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By Linda Dightmon AZOD Managing Editor
Cool memories. Today, I sit under the hum of the air conditioner, eyes glazed, watching heat waves rise up on the asphalt. I daydream cool memories, like eagle banding day at Lake Pleasant. It brings back a refreshing 70-degree day and an encounter with a most unusual baby. Eagle banding day showcases the eagle program on two fronts. The media gets to witness the banding process and meet the nestwatchers.
It is a breezy Thursday morning at the 10-lane boat ramp. The play of sunlight and wind sends thousands of little diamonds sparkling across the water. A few sailboats drift lazily about. Rory Aiken, information officer from AZ G & F and Kenneth Jacobson, field projects coordinator, is there to greet everyone. Lots of periodical journalists are there and nearly all the local TV stations including a group from Tucson. Media piles into barges for the ride upstream.
You know the place. It is beyond those infuriating marker buoys on the Agua Fria. The nest is huge, about 600 pounds. From the water peering up, it looks to be a gray blob on an almost perpendicular cliff. It is about a 20-minute hike to the top (coming up the backside). It is not a particularly strenuous hike unless of course you are lugging around video equipment and tripods. There is something about the symbol of our nation that brings out the heavyweights.
During the assent the adults circle nearby, chirping with disapproval. We marvel at their grace and beauty. They soar around us again and again showing off 6-plus feet of dark wingspan sharply contrasting with that white head and tail feathers. The bald eagle is a classy bird always dressed for a formal. This pair has nested here for years and it seems as though they remember the annual intrusion and except for an occasional fly by, they soon settle down and perch nearby.
When everybody is in position, Arizona game and Fish biologist Jorge Canaca rappels down the cliff into the nest. He puts big blue fuzzy booties and a leather hood on the eaglet. Then, he carefully places it in a duffel bag so that it can be hoisted up safely. Jorge gets to be in the nest during the entire time that the eaglet is up top. He checks out the nest for prey remains or anything else that may have gotten into it. Eagle garbage. It seems that he is always the “lucky” one of the team to pull this duty. His teammates must be holding something big over his head.
Jorge Canaca rappels while being spotted by
Kenneth Jacobson
Baby in a bag
The eaglet is safely on top and nestwatchers Adriane Albertowicz and Aran Meyer get their biggest paycheck. The bag is opened and the hood taken off of its down-covered occupant. They see up close for the first and only time the reason for their extended camping trip. With the joyful tears of proud new parents they take turns holding the 6-week-old eaglet while the team works. The baby is measured and banded and all the other necessary scientific stuff. From these measurements James Driscoll, the department’s bald eagle manager, figures that the 2004 Lake Pleasant baby is probably a female.
There are about a dozen bald eagle nesting sights in Arizona located near high recreational areas. This is where the nestwatchers are placed. The goal is to allow the eagles to breed without interference from the public. These dedicated individuals observe the nest from the first weeks of February when the adults begin to exhibit nesting behavior until the baby(s) fledges. Sometimes, nest watching goes well into June. They work 10 days on and four days off, taking turns watching the nest. They keep the public educated, note the behavior of the eagle family and call in the troops if there is any trouble. To date, nest watchers are credited with saving 60 eaglets.
Nestwatcher Aran Meyer
Nestwatcher Adriane Albertowicz
After the banding the fun begins. Photo opportunities! This eaglet is alert and cooperative. James explains how to hold her and one by one, each media personality poses with the baby. Sound bites are done quickly to avoid any stress to the precious subject.
Crystal Hirsch and Linda Dightmon
The baby gets her first drink of water and is lowered down to Jorge who carefully places her back in the nest. He climbs up excited about the stuff he found in the nest. There are some fish bones and what he thinks may be lizard skin. Even more important is what is not in the nest. There is no fishing line or any other manmade potential hazards. A testament to Lake Pleasant visitors. As we pack up for the descent one of the parents soars by and throws a crappie at us. It misses and falls in the water.
“It is time to go,” Jorge says.
On the way out the barges swing by the nest for one last look. One of the parents is already back on the nest checking out the eaglet.
This is the second time that I have been privileged to hold a Lake Pleasant baby but it is no less thrilling. If I live to be 90, holding a wild healthy bald eaglet on a cliff overlooking Lake Pleasant on that beautiful sunny spring Thursday will always be a special memory. A special cool memory.
More about Arizona Eagles
An exciting new tool was added in the spring of 2002. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation working with AZ G& F fitted eight fledglings with satellite transmitters. Two were lost to other animals. The rest traveled north and in six days were tracked to Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and Kansas. Later on, the youngsters visited their old nesting sites before traveling on. Two continued south to Mexico.
This past spring a fostered nestling named Sutton was fitted with one of these transmitters. The public will be able to view her movement through the Internet.
How can we help? It is easy. Buy some state lottery tickets. It is monies derived from the Heritage Fund that enables state biologists to band, track and study these magnificent raptors. And please, please obey the closures.
The nestwatch program began in 1978. How many breeding pair of bald eagles did Arizona have?
11
How many breeding pair in AZ today?
41
How many more can we support?
Good question and one that is not easy to answer. Bald eagles are dependent upon many things to successfully breed. By far the most important are food and habitat. If the land and prey base are managed properly, then the number could likely double, maybe even triple.
Do eagles that fledge in Arizona come home to breed?
Yes. Exclusively. Only one bird from another state has come to Arizona to breed, most return to within 200 km of where they hatched to breed.
They are listed nationally as Threatened, what is the next step down?
How would that impact the AZ eagle program?
The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Southwestern Bald Eagle Management Committee will ensure the necessary management is in place after delisting.
Anything else you may wish to communicate with our readers?
Delisting is not only a success story for the bald eagle, but it is a success story about the people of Arizona. We have imposed a lot of management in order to protect the species and help them recover. The public decided that the bald eagle is something they wanted to see recover, embraced our management practices, and complied with the restrictions. So, the recovery of the bald eagle is a success story about the people of Arizona and their willingness to help and listed species.
Do you think that you will ever get tired of managing AZ bald eagles?
Anything I can do to help the Bald Eagle population in Arizona makes my life worthwhile.