Short Santa Cruz Update, March 15th 2007

Hey All,

I just got an email from Chris, who is on Santa Rosa this week. Apparently he tried to post an update, but is having some technical problems. I'm on the mainland right now, but I'll do my best to fill you in on a bit of what happened last week.

First of all, the south-side pair seems to have laid at least one egg. Kim observed both parents on the 'nest' last week, and the female (A-04) was in incubation posture and turning the egg(s) approximately every 45 minutes. Our observation point for this nest is about 1 mile away, so unfortunately we can't actually see the eggs. They picked a nest location about 400m west of last years, still in the grass, still with no obvious sticks or other nesting material. If you recall, this is the pair from last year that surprised us all by 'building' a 'nest' (I use the terms loosely) in the grass near the water. Although ground-nesting eagles are not unheard of, most of the time a nest will still be constructed out of sticks and grass. The only other records of Bald Eagles just laying eggs is the grass come from a few Alaskan islands, where trees and ground predators are completely absent. Since the recent removal of the pigs on Santa Cruz, the only possible nest predators would be the Island Fox and spotted skunk. The Fox weighs about 4 pounds and the skunk about 2; considering an adult female Bald Eagle weighs in around 12-15 pounds, it would have to be a pretty brave (stupid?) fox or skunk to mess with an angry Bald Eagle parent.

In other news: we're still trying to track down a potential nest on the northwest side of Santa Cruz island. A-00 and A-16 have been observed together in this area for several weeks now, but we haven't been able to locate a nest yet. Karen and Andy are in the area right now, and yesterday they saw only one of the birds on the coastline. I'm hoping this is a good sign that the other bird is on a nest somewhere, incubating a freshly laid egg. We're planning a helicopter survey for next week, so if we're still unable to find the nest from the ground, we should be able to pick it out from the air. We'll post an update as soon as we have more news.

Last Tuesday we spotted A-60 (south-side chick from last year) perched above the water at Prisoner's Harbors. The first thing we noticed was how bleached out this bird was, looking almost blond. When we first saw it, we assumed it was an older bird, not a typically dark 1 year old. Bald Eagles don't always molt every feather in a single year, so older feathers start to get faded by the sun.

A-49 has been splitting her time between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. We now have several birds on 3 of the northern islands (Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa), as well as A-32 on Catalina and A-46 and A-39 on the mainland (both still in Washington state).

Anyhow, I guess this update isn't as short as I expected it to be. Chris may be able to post some more details if he can resolve his technical difficulties before the week's over. I'll talk to you again next week.

Dave


This shot of A-40 was taken at about 1 year of age. You can see the different levels of 'fade' in the feathers. The very dark brown feathers on the back are probably freshly grown, whereas the blonder feathers are most likely older.


This picture of A-33 really show off the varied plumage of a typical 2 year old.


Here's K-26 at 4 years old. She has they typical white-head of a mature adult, but still has a lot of brown in the tail.

Thanks, Dave!

Great photos for plumage education, Dave!! Thanks for the report...we know you guys are busy out there!

Thanks, Dave, for jumping in there from the mainland to give us our 'eaglefix' from Sta. Cruz this week and the plumage 'tidbits' to add to our ever-increasing education! You guys (and gals!) ROCK!!
P.S. Who might be 'on duty' on S.C. when we visit 'Cruzneyland again on April 28? Any plans for any of the crew to be on Rosa on April 29??

That's a GREAT shot of our mom K26! When/where was it taken? She seems to be feeding on something quite large.

Thank you, Dave, for the update and photos. They are excellent for making comparisons and seeing the feather differences up close. It was nice to see a photo of K26 before she got her white tail. She was a beauty even then. No wonder K10 wanted to be her mate.
The grassland pair needs to take a "house tour" around the islands to learn how to make a real nest!
Good luck with locating the potential new nest for A00 and A16.

How awesome! Great photos! Lots of activity being observed! Thank you as always ...

Thanks as always for a super report .... and with photos to show the variations in plumage too ... Nice to see 'our mom' as a 'youngster'.

That's funny that the grassland pair did it again .... just moved further down 'the block'!

Good luck with all your efforts to track down the other pairs and their nests.

Again, any thanks for a wonderful report on our eagles. It is lovely to see the pictures and the different feather colors when they are young, and as they age.
You are all great.

Dave, I really enjoyed the update and esp. the pix. I loved seeing the changing colors of the beak!

Thanks, Dave!

Love the comparisons of the colors as the eagles age. Question: Is the plummage color how they know each other is of breeding age? Or is it a scent thing?

I love the concentrated looks in their eyes. K-26 looks almost like porcelain.

Great update -- I hope you are successful in finding the other nests!

Dave,
Thanks for the not so "short" update. Great news about several possible breeding pairs on Santa Cruz. Our sweetheart K-26 was just four last year when she first bred, wasn't she? Perhaps she sat on the egg that was Cruz while she still had a dark tail. Could it be that early maturity is more likely in environments with open territory and plentiful food?

Hope to see you next month!

I love those pictures! Especially the one of our momma! Thanks for the update Dave!

Great update and awesome pictures. Love the plumage differences and of course, love our K26. Thank you all so much for keeping us updated.

Any possibility of wrestling that new video cam away from Dr. Sharpe for the helicopter nest search? Would be cool to see some footage of that!

You guys rock !!

Thanks Dave for your update and great photos. You and your team are awesome.