Northern Channel Islands Update

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Northern Channel Islands Update; Sunday, December 31, 2006
Topic Started: Apr 29 2008, 05:06 PM (252 Views)
eaglegal	Apr 29 2008, 05:06 PM Post #1
Bald Eagle Posts: 246 Group: Admin Member #92 Joined: April 16, 2008	Hello Everyone! Welcome to the belated Wednesday Update. I have been absent from Santa Cruz Island for the last month and my recent return has reminded me how much I enjoy it out here. The fall season has changed to winter in Southern California and cold air from the Gulf of Alaska is here to stay. Somehow, the heavy rains still seem to be avoiding us. Overall, these changes mean two things: Holiday celebrations and bald eagle nesting! Everyone is delighted with the operational nest camera. Postings on stick deliveries and nest construction continue to be very helpful to the IWS crew. K-10 and K-26 seem quite eager and prepared for the next breeding season. It will be interesting to see if the two adults display any nesting behavior different from that of last year. They are each one year older and may have learned a few new lessons in parenting. As for A-49, she is still on Santa Rosa Island, staying close to the northwestern beaches and the adjacent canyons. According to the most recent GPS data downloaded, we now have 18 eagles on Santa Rosa Island: A-62, 60, 59, 58, 52, 51, 49, 48, 45, 43, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 29, 21, and 02. The hunt has come to an end for the season, yet the eagles continue to feed on the few remaining elk and deer carcasses around. Overall, the eagles have been spending the majority of their time on the northern beaches of Santa Rosa Island. The recent large swells probably brought new food items ashore for the eagles to feed on. As for Santa Cruz Island, our GPS data shows only three eagles present: A-55, 40, and 04. A-04 is back in her nesting territory, hopefully preparing for the breeding season with K-11. I will go check on the south side nest this afternoon to see if that couple is as active as K-26 and K-10 are with nest construction. A-04 did take a quick daylong tour around the island on 12/15 and our trail camera caught a glimpse of her expressing interest in our food item. A-40 is on the north shore of Santa Cruz, in a remote anchorage called Cuerva Valdez, most likely learning to hunt for birds and catch fish. We were able to capture several beautiful pictures of A-40 on the trail camera. A-55 has been spending time at Prisoners Harbor and nearby canyons, probably finding food items on the beaches. There have been several new developments on the next potential pair: A-21 and A-11. A-21’s transmitter is old and produces sporadic data, however we did receive several points form A-21 from 12/12-18, positioning him on the south side of Anacapa Island. During a large part of this past summer, A-21 resided on the south side of Anacapa and has now recently returned to that location. The back side of Anacapa would be a perfect territory for a nesting pair of bald eagles. Data that I received today indicated that A-21 was on Anacapa on 12/18, and then flew to Santa Rosa Island on 12/19. It is amazing how quickly these birds can move around. Lets hope that that A-11 can keep up with A-21 transient lifestyle. That sums it up for the recent activities on the Northern Channel Islands. I will be on Santa Cruz Island through Christmas and responsible for the update next Wednesday. Form all at IWS, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday! Cheers, Chris A-04 is checking out all the commotion. A-40 is getting his fill as the sun rises.



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