[TN-Bird] Re: Golden Eagle
- From: Scott Somershoe <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
- To: TN-Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:21:09 +0000
All,
I'm a little behind on responding to the emails about eagles, etc., but better
late than never. I just wanted to add to what Knox and Mac said about the
increase in eagles. Last year I spent a lot of time working with TWRA
biologists, the good folks with the Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife
Service, TDEC, and plenty of wonderful TOS members and private citizens to
monitor Bald Eagle nests across the state. In addition, I flew with our pilot
in our agency plane to survey many areas of the state, which allowed me to see
about 90 active nests from the air and several other inactive eagle nests. We
gathered data on almost every eagle nest I knew about, found at least a dozen
more while flying (most on the Mississippi River proper), plus we added nests
that private individuals contacted us about (all documented with photos, etc.).
It was an amazing year as I saw probably 110-120 occupied eagle nests in
Tennessee!
In total, there were about 175 occupied Bald Eagle nests in the state in 2012.
Occupied nests are those with a pair present on the nest, incubating, chicks,
etc. There are several other places where a pair of adults lingered through
the breeding season, but we never found a nest for one reason or another. In
reality, I wouldn't be surprised if there are 200 occupied nests in the state
as there are many poorly surveyed or unsurveyed areas that are tough to access,
etc.
In 1983, there was only 1 nest in the state! Quite a remarkable recovery!
Bob Hatcher and I update the "Bald Facts about Bald Eagles" annually. This
document has a lot of info about the recovery of Bald Eagles in Tennessee. A
PDF on the Tennessee's Watchable Wildlife web site is linked here:
http://tnwatchablewildlife.org/files/eagle_facts_january13.pdf
I'm back into the swing of keeping tabs on eagle nests for 2013. The data is
used for conservation purposes, i.e. documenting the recovery of the species
post-delisting from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and is very helpful with
guiding development of various kinds, including energy.
If you know of nests or find a "new" Bald Eagle nest, I'd love to hear about
it. There's a reasonable chance I haven't heard about the nest! All the info
is a big help in our efforts to keep eagles on the increase and keep them off
the ESA! Feel free to email me off the list
Thanks!
Scott Somershoe
When I started rehabbing raptors in 1986 we would go several years and never
see an eagle. We might have one in a year then it would be several years before
we saw another. The numbers began to rise in the mid to late 1990's when we
might see one or two eagles each year. During that time we saw two Golden
Eagles as well. In the last several years the numbers have really grown. In
2011 we saw our first baby eagle. It had been found after the nest tree was
blown down in a tornado. In 2012 between the Memphis Zoo and the Mid-South
Raptor Center, a total of 10 Bald Eagles were seen. Unfortunately four had been
shot. The others had various collision injuries. Hopefully the number of
resident eagles will continue to grow in the state while the number of injured
and shot birds will not.
Knox Martin
Mid-South Raptor Center, Memphis
Shelby County
-----Original Message-----
From: Mac McWhirter <npmcwhirter@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:npmcwhirter@xxxxxxxxx>>
To: Tnbirds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: Tue, Feb 5, 2013 3:27 pm
Subject: [TN-Bird] Golden Eagle
> At 9:05 this morning at Hatchie NWR (mile 52 on I-40), spotted an adult Golden
Eagle flying low and turning over the treelines adjacent to O'Neal Lake. Later
an immature Bald Eagle perched on one of the trees near the center of the lake.
>
> Talked to a refuge employee afterward and he said they had done a flyover duck
count last week and thought they had 2 Goldens and 4 Balds.
>
> Seems like just yesterday that practically the only way to see a Bald Eagle in
Tennessee was near a hacking site. We've seen 5 separate individual Balds in
Shelby County just in January. What a success story the eagle hacking project
was!
>
> Mac McWhirter
> Memphis,TN
State Ornithologist
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
P.O. Box 40747
Nashville, TN 37204
615-781-6653 (office)
615-781-6654 (fax)
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