[va-richmond-general] James River Eagle Survey New Milestone
- From: "Wilson, Michael D" <mdwils@xxxxxx>
- To: "Va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 23:08:29 +0000
James River Bald Eagle Survey reaches new milestones
Despite high winds during the month of February, the bald eagle breeding
population along the James River is already setting new records. The Center
for Conservation Biology within the College of William and Mary and the
Virginia Commonwealth University completed the first bald eagle survey of the
James River in early March. More than 165 occupied breeding territories were
documented. The James is the only major tributary within the Chesapeake Bay
watershed where the population was completely lost. The historic river
supported no breeding pairs in the late 1970s due to high levels of kepone,
DDT, and other pollutants. For the population to recover to this level in just
30 years is a testament to the resiliency of both the eagle population and the
great river on which it depends.
In addition to the population milestones, the James River survey itself has
also reached some historic benchmarks. The first aerial survey of the James
was conducted in 1962 by Richmond native Fred Scott. 2011 is the 50th
consecutive breeding season that the population has been surveyed from the air
making the survey the longest running in the country. The survey is now
conducted by Mitchell Byrd, Bryan Watts, and pilot Captain Fuzzzo Shermer.
2011 represents the 35th consecutive year that Mitchell Byrd has surveyed the
population, the 20th year that Bryan Watts has surveyed, and the 19th year that
Captain Fuzzzo has flown the survey. The team has served witness to the
astounding comeback of our Nation's symbol.
posted for Bryan Watts (bdwatt@xxxxxx, phone 757-221-2247) by:
Michael Wilson
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
phone: 757-221-1649
fax: 757-221-1650
email: mdwils@xxxxxx
web: www.ccb-wm.org
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