It has been a while since there was an update on the two tagged Golden Eagles by Dr. Mark Martell of Minnesota Audubon. Here are a series of updates about the birds. surprisingly, they are not yet in active migration despite being in northern Canada.
As summer is drawing to a close here we are starting to see hawks migrating through the state on their way south. Both of the golden eagles we are tracking are still alive and sending data from Canada although neither has begun any movement south.
Whitey – Eagle 42 is still using a pretty large area in northern Quebec between Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait. He has been here all summer. The last 2 weeks of August he spent his time in an area of about 30 sq. miles. On Sep 1 – 4 he moved about 30 miles south where he was when we received our last reading.
Fairchild – Eagle 44, after spending most of her summer using a very small area along a river near the Labrador Sea has moved about 30 miles east and is now using a few islands off the coast of Labrador. For the past few weeks she has been moving among those islands.
While the golden eagles are starting to fly in larger numbers over Hawk Ridge in Duluth, our 2 birds seem quite content in Canada. Female 44 (Fairchild) is not showing any signs of moving away from her summer area in Labrador. Male 42 (Whitey) seems to be slowly moving to the southwest away from his main summer use area but has only covered a total of 66 miles in 4 days, so if this is the start of his migration he does not seem in any hurry
Not much new to report at this point. Eagle 42 (Whitey) is moving south, although not at a very fast clip. He has covered only 147 miles since he began moving. The attached map shows his movements this fall (white diamonds), his main summer range (white bordered box), and his spring migration through the area (pink lines and triangles).
Eagle 44 (Fairchild) remains on her summer area, moving around but not away.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT VIST:
http://mn.audubon.org/birds-science-education/golden-eagle-project
March 15 proved to be a strong start to KRS’s 2011 count season, yielding 36 Bald Eagles and 1 Northern Goshawk in a little over six hours of observation. A female Snow Bunting also stopped by the hilltop for a breather this morning, while a displaying Common Raven near West Bluff passed the day chasing off eagles (and that goshawk!) that ventured too close for his (her?) comfort.
