Wednesday Update, February 7th, 2007

Hey All,

Ryan and I are on Santa Rosa this week, taking over where Chris and Andy left off. We arrived only yesterday, but managed to have a pretty productive couple days. Yesterday we got to the island around noon, and after getting settled and having a quick lunch we headed out to the north side in search of birds. The fist place we stopped was on a point of land between Lobo and Cow canyon (on the Northeast shore of Santa Rosa), where we were lucky enough to spot two birds: one adult and one sub-adult (probably 3 year old). After a few minutes of watching them perched on the rocky cliff side, the older bird took off over the water, swooping down on what we assumed was going to be a fish, only to be chased off at the last second by a California sea-lion. The bird then circled around for a second attempt, this time picking the fish out of the water, with the sea-lion jumping clear out of the water in pursuit of its stolen meat. The older bird then flew directly over the younger bird perched on the bluff, seeming to flaunt its freshly caught fish. This proved to be too much temptation for the young bird, who immediately took off, following the older bird west. We watched them fly off, circling each other and interacting until we lost sight of them several miles away.

Today we went to the northwest shore of the island, in the general area that we lost sight of the two birds the previous day. It wasn't long after we arrived at out chosen 'OP's' (Observation Points) that I spotted the first eagle of the day: a fully white-headed adult! I managed to get only a short glimpse of the bird before it flew west along the bluffs, beyond the extent of my view. Ryan and quickly repacked our gear and headed west, moving to new OP's that would hopefully get us another view of the bird I saw earlier. Sure enough, Ryan spotted him right away, perched with a noticeable younger bird (a 3 year old). After some quick radio 'stratergery', Ryan guided me into a spot that I could see both birds perched on a rocky point above the water. I eventually managed to get close enough to read the tag numbers on both birds: A-08 and A-22! Andy had spotted these same birds near this area just a couple days earlier. Both birds were released on Santa Cruz island, A-08 in 2002 and A-22 in 2004. A-22 hasn't been seen in well over a year, so it's good to know she's doing fine, and has apparently found a nice young male to spend time with. At three years old, it may be a bit early for her to be thinking about nesting, or for that matter, laying eggs. Although it's not completely unheard of, Bald Eagles don't generally reach reproductive maturity until 4 or 5 years of age. Oh well, it's still nice to know we have another potential pair, even though we may have to wait a year or two for them.

That's all we've had time to do out here so far. We'll be here until next Tuesday, so I'll fill you in on anything else we see in next weeks update. Hopefully we'll get a chance to check in on A-49 and the rest of the younger birds, who've been spending most of their time on the elephant seal beaches of the southern shores. I'll talk to you all then.

Dave

Hi Dave - thanks for another great report. I would imagine things will start getting busier over the next couple of months, and we will all be on pins and needles once the egg(s) arrive. Hey, this almost seems lilke waiting for Christmas again.

Wonderful update! Thanks, Dave and the rest of the IWS Crew. Great news about A-08 and A-22.
I can only imagine how it must have looked to see that sea lion jump completely out of the water as the eagle took off with that fish!
You guys are living an amazing life out on those islands. Thanks so very much for sharing the magic with all of us.

Thanks for the update Dave - that would have been a sight to see with the older eagle making off with the fish and the sea lion jumping clear "out of the water" - hope the younger eagle was watching closely to see how it's done. We appreciate the weekly updates on any of the eagles activities.

Great update Dave - have a super week at Santa Rosa!

I'm liking the "seeming to flaunt its freshly caught fish"!!! LOL

Thank you Dave for another great update, we appreciate any tidbit you can provide. Good luck in your search for A49 and the other youngsters.

Great update, Dave! Sounds like you & Ryan make a good scouting team. Enjoyed your talkes, as always! Thanks for the great update~~

Interesting about A-08/22.

Dave,
Thanks for the exciting news. I imagine Santa Rosa is desirable territory for a few potential eagle pairs! Have a great week.

Thank you Dave for the great update. We truly appreciate you taking the time to let us know what's happening on the islands. It is exciting to know that A-22 has come back after a year away!

Thank you, Dave, for the update. You write so well that I can picture the angry sea-lion, the determined adult eagle, and the juvenile following behind. What a great action story! Keep up the good eagle searching. I love hearing about all of them. It's good to know that Cruz is hanging out with other eagles and is able to find food.

As always, thank you. It is so comforting to know that you are out there keeping an eagle eye out for our birds. Very nice to hear there are pairs falling in love aahh. Encouraging news! Thank you.

Dave, Thanks for the update. I'm glad the eagle won over the sea lion in the battle of the fish......must have been great to see. Hopefully you'll see our A-49 while you are out and about; we'll anxiously await next weeks report. Thanks again, you guys do such a great job.

What a great description for Valentine February! Thanks Dave

What a sight that must of been! Makes me want to do a mid-life change to become a biologist. 2nd thought, maybe not. I heard Dr. Sharpe's story of what he had to do his dissertation on... read his bio on the IWS thread. He didn't exactly laugh about it, but it wasn't the most exciting thing in his life. He loves what he's doing now.

Thanks Dave, as usual you gave us a great update. I love to read about the different eagles and when they were released etc. I read the post late at night (I am a night owl) and get all the good pics and stories. Again thanks have a great time on the islands. Frances