Wednesday Update, February 21st, 2007

[IWS Crew]

Hey All,

We've all been busy over the past week looking for potential nesting pairs on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa island. This week Ryan is back on Santa Rosa, while Kim and I are here on Santa Cruz. We still haven't confirmed any new nests, but we did see some adult birds, and we're still optimistic that this nesting season is going to be even busier than last year.

Last week the weather was nice enough that Chris and I were able to get our boat out for a couple days of coastline surveys here on Santa Cruz. We're really concentrating on the northwest shore of the island, as we've seen an adult bird (or two) in the Cueva Valdez area. We were able to make it there last week, and once again saw a single adult perched on the cliff above Lady's harbor. Although we could clearly see blue tags on this bird, we weren't able to make out the tag numbers before he/she few east along the coast to a perch spot higher up on a cliff. Chris hiked out to this same area a couple days later and observed 2 adult (or near adult) birds that seemed to be hanging together. Chris watched these birds for some time before they flew over the north ridge of the island, out of his view. I think this may be the first confirmed sighting we have of 2 adults in this area, so Kim and I will be going back this week to try to relocate these birds.

Chris and I also took the boat to the southeast corner of Santa Cruz. Kim had seen an adult and a couple other birds in the Yellow Banks/Smugglers area last week. We were able to spend several hours watching the cliffs and shoreline, but didn't see any birds. I suspect that the birds Kim saw may have made their way to Anacapa island already. Based on our GPS telemetry, we now have at least 4 birds on Anacapa island (A-58, A-40, A-36 and A-21). We're planning on surveying this small island from the Park Service boat sometime in the next couple weeks.

Today Kim and I spent the day watching the south-central coast of Santa Cruz. Kim saw an adult bird fly from a perch near the water, heading inland toward El Tigre ridge. El Tigre is a huge, rocky ridge with plenty of good looking nest habitat where a pair of eagles could easily hide a nest in a tree or rocky outcropping, so we'll be spending some time in this area over the next few days.

I didn't see any adult birds from my observation point today, but I did see a younger bird as I was hiking back to my vehicle late in the day. The bird was circling pretty close above me, but the light was getting bad and I wasn't able to read the numbers from the blue wing-tags. Based on the plumage, it looked to be a 1 or 2 year old bird and I was able to just catch a glimpse of the antenna sticking out of the telemetry backpack it was wearing, so I pulled out my radio receiver and started scanning through the frequencies. I was expecting it to be either A-60 or A-52, both of whom had been spending time on Santa Cruz lately. Anyhow, I was pretty surprised when I dialed the receiver to A-49's frequency and the signal started coming through loud and clear! Her GPS data showed that she was most recently on Anacapa, but I guess she grew tired of the small island and decided to come back to Cruz. I watched her circling high above the south-side before she tucked her wings and headed west, out of sight. All the birds seem to be moving around quite a bit these days, so it wouldn't surprise me if she was heading back to Santa Rosa, or maybe Anacapa. If I could jump from island to island as easily as these birds, I probably wouldn't stay too long in one place either.

Speaking of well traveled birds, A-33 recently made a trip to the mainland. He is currently northwest of Santa Barbara, in the vicinity of Point Conception. This is his first trip to the mainland, so he's probably having a great time exploring some new territory. Maybe he'll bring a mainland friend back to the island with him when he returns.

That's all I have for now. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me today, so I didn't get any pictures of A-49. I'll talk to you all next week.

Dave

[peppermint]

Awwwww, Dave....no photo of Cruz?? Oh well....how exciting to see her in her old surroundings!! Maybe she was checking out the old homestead for old times sake. It's great to hear of so many eagles doing so well...must be an exciting time for you guys!

Thanks for the update!

[Bea]

Great update Dave!! Thank you!!
Awsome that you saw Cruz. She was showing herself to you so you could tell all of us that she's okay! That's so cool!
You guys certainly have been busy. Keep up the great work and I'll keep my talons crossed that you guys will find a couple more nests!
Again, thanks so much for all you do!!

[harpo516]

Thank you Dave / IWS staff for all that you do! Enjoy getting updated on the activities and travels of the eagles! Truly good to hear a sighting of 49 and knowing that she's doing great and exploring her world! A year ago - she was that tiny egg....

[Naturegal]

Thanks Dave for the great update. Our little Cruz sounds quite adventurous, hopefully you will be able to get some photos next time.

[Joanie]

Thanks again, Dave, for the informative update with new info about our Princess... if you catch sight of her again would you give her the message that her fan club will be making a pilgrimage on Saturday, April 28... I think her parents already received the 'save the date' announcement but don't know if they passed it along

[Cockney2]

Thanks so much for a great update Dave. They are always appreciated. I'm so glad to hear our Cruz is doing well. Again, thanks.

[ojailala]

Makes me want to go up North and search for #33... great up-date

[Troth]

OH I am so excited that you got a signal on Cruz and got to see her. I am glad that she is happy and healthy and island hopping. What a little travelin girl!! Great update and I love the way you detail your experiences, makes us feel like we are there with you. Thanks Dave and the IWS crew.

[Patti]

Excellent, as always, update, Dave. Great to hear about Ms Cruz & all the others.

[Loverofchicks]

I love to hear that our "girl" is doing so well. I can only think it was meant that you see her just so we could know she is well and flying like a pro . Dave you always give us such good news. Thanks and keep on looking I bet you will find those new nest and maybe more than you thought.
Frances

[KLJinOz]

Having 'heard' the GPS tracking device during our tour of Catalina, I could 'hear' the Cruz tracking in my mind ! Thanks Dave for the good description! Ozzie