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2020 - 2021 Winter Eagle Trapping

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2020 - 2021 Winter Eagle Trapping

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2020 - 2021 Winter Eagle Trapping

April 28, 2021

Adam Shreading shares stories from Raptor View Research Institute's 10th season trapping raptors for the Winter Eagle Project.

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Though we didn’t catch our first eagle until December 28, the slowest start we’ve ever had, we ended up capturing 27 eagles, our highest total of any season!

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We were thrilled to recapture four Golden Eagles we had banded in previous seasons, the first of which, Rhonda, we had outfitted with a GPS transmitter on February 20, 2017.

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We recaptured Rhonda on December 30, 2020. Unfortunately, she was in poor condition; she was 2.5 lbs lighter than the 10.5 lbs we measured her at in 2017.

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We captured Chuck, a juvenile Golden Eagle, on September 20, 2018, during our fall migration banding project at MPG Ranch and outfitted him with wing tags numbered 390

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We recaptured Chuck December 30, 2020. Now three years old and a presumed resident of the area, we thought Chuck would be interesting to track, so we removed his wing tags and outfitted him with a GPS unit.

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In early March of 2013, we repeatedly saw two adult Golden Eagles in territorial displays over the higher elevations of MPG Ranch.

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On December 12, 2015, we recaptured Phoenix. We believed the harness breaking away after just three days on our first attempt to track her was a fluke and decided to outfit her with another unit.

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We captured Phoenix for a third time on February 19, 2021.

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We captured Aurora on January 24, 2016. At 13 pounds, she was one of the largest Golden Eagles captured in this study.

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Like Chuck, Aurora’s wings were in great condition underneath the tags.

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The eye color of Golden Eagles changes with age.

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The vast majority of eagles we capture (>90%) test high for blood-lead content, likely a result from ingesting spent ammunition.

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Nine of the Golden Eagles captured this year appear to be migrants.

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We attempt to investigate breeding attempts for eagles that remain in western Montana whenever possible.

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While the 2020 season came with its share of challenges, we were fortunate to have an awesome field crew of seasoned veterans this winter: Danny, Mary, Jack, and Bridget

Previous Research Update

2020 Hummingbird Project update

Next Research Update

New 2021 Motus Partnerships Update

Related Research Updates

2020 Fall Raptor Migration and Telemetry Summary

December 9th, 2020

By: RVRI

Spring 2020 Bitterroot Valley Winter Eagle Project Update

May 5th, 2020

By: Eric Rasmussen

2020 Winter Eagle Research Update

April 24th, 2020

By: Adam Shreading

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Rehabilitated Eagles Caught on Camera

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April 10th, 2020

By: Mary Scofield

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- Staff
- Lab
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- Mammal List
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Photos
Videos
- MPG Conference Videos
Research
- Published Papers
Field Notes
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- Habitat Restoration
- Raptor Tracker

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