BioDiversity Research Institute

History of the Project

ADULT EAGLE (AD01)
IMMATURE EAGLE - Brassua Chick (HY01)
IMMATURE EAGLE - Saco River Chick (HY02)
IMMATURE EAGLE - Flaggstaff Lake Chick (HY03) ______________________________________________________
ADULT EAGLE
The first bird to be tracked, an adult female bald eagle, had been spotted on the grounds of a golf course, then chased down and captured by Warden John MacDonald and taken to Lewiston's Animal Emergency Clinic of Mid-Maine on June 15. The next day, the bird was driven to Avian Haven. When Marc Payne and Diane Winn of Avian Haven examined the female eagle, they could find no injuries or fractures, either by palpation or radiograph. She did have some old, partially-healed wounds on her feet, and was somewhat underweight, probably because of a parasite load. A few days later, after treating the parasites and making sure she was stable and eating, Marc and Diane moved the bird to a 40' cage, but she did not attempt to fly. Over the next couple of weeks, Avian Haven took two more sets of radiographs without finding anything amiss. They sent the radiographs to the wildlife veterinarians at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, but they also found no explanation for the bird's reluctance to fly. At the end of June, the bird was moved to a continuous oval flyway in hopes that more room would encourage her to fly. But as the weeks went by, she did not fly more than short distances a few feet off the ground. In August, Dr. Susan Giglia, a Damariscotta chiropractor and wildlife rehabilitator, did two adjustments on this bird; afterwards, she flew somewhat better, but never to the high perches or for very long distances. But toward the end of September, she began to fly with more strength and stamina; by October, the bird was perching on the flyway's high perches. During the month of November, there was dramatic improvement; the bird flew from the ground to a high perch several times, and often flew 2-3 laps at a time around the circumference of the flyway. What took her so long to fly remained a mystery; perhaps there was a soft-tissue or nerve injury that simply took a very long time to heal As Avian Haven discussed release scenarios with biologists at Maine IF&W, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, BioDiversity Research Institute, and US Fish and Wildlife, an idea emerged. For some time, the biologists monitoring eagles in Maine had wanted to attach a satellite transmitter to an adult to gather information about their movements, particularly in winter. The bird seemed a good candidate for two reasons: first, she was the presumed resident female at a nest built atop a FP&L pole in Lewiston; second, she was in captivity, so the transmitter's harness could be fitted and evaluated prior to release. The pieces fell into place quickly. A custom-made transmitter was ordered and delivered to FPL the day after Thanksgiving. On 11/28, the harness was attached, and the bird tolerated it well. On December 1st, 2005 the bird was released in Turner on the banks of the Androscoggin River.
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Brassua Chick (HY01)
BRI and collaborators placed a satellite transimitter on a second eagle on July 11, 2006. This bird was an immature from a nest located on Brassua Lake in Maine. When the ealge was about 10-11 weeks of age Bill Hanson, Biologist for Florida Power and Light climbed to the nest and removed the immature bird. Biologists Chris Desorbo and Chris Niven of BioDiversity Research Institute, Charlie Todd of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Kyle Murphy of Florida Power and Light banded the eagle with a U. S. Fish and Wildlife band and a red aluminum band with " ZP" etched into it. They made morphometric measurements, placed the transmitter on the bird and returned it to the nest. This healthy eagle was believed to be a male, weighed 4300g, and fledged successfully the following week.

This particular bird was selected because of its older age which allowed for easier attachment of the transmitter, the accessibility of the nest, and its location on Brassua Lake where Florida Power and Light (who supplied funding for the transmitter) operates a hydroelectric power facility.

Saco River Chick (HY02)
On June 29, 2009 a team of scientists carefully attached a small 'backpack' style satellite transmitter to a nine week old eagle chick that was hatched in a nest along the Saco River. On hand that day were Rick Gray and Patrick Keenan of BioDiversity Research Institute, Bill Hanson and Tim Welch of NextEra Energy Resources, Charlie Todd of the Department of Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Larry Barnes an expert tree climber and falconer. The eagle banded and was replaced back in its nest to complete development before it successfully fledged from the nest a few weeks later. It's movement are now being tracked and can be observed on this website. Many thanks to NextEra energy Resources for supplying the satellite transmitter and to The Department of Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for their support on this project.

Flaggstaff Lake Chick (HY03)
On July 17, 2009 an eagle chick was outfitted with a small 'backpack' style satellite transmitter. The bird selected was the male of two ten week old chicks in the nest--one male and one female. It was then banded and replaced in teh nest. On site for the processing were Bill Hanson of NextEra Energy Resources, Chris DeSorbo, Chris Persico, and Matt O'Neil of BioDiversity Research Institute, Larry Barnes an expert tree climber and falconer. Many thanks to NextEra energy Resources for supplying the satellite transmitter and to The Department of Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for their support on this project.

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