 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Where do Arizona's eagles go for summer vacation? News Media Dec 13, 2005 Game and Fish study reveals some answers FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Have you ever wondered how far a bald eagle can fly? Biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Army National Guard at Camp Navajo are now conducting an eagle research study to answer that question and more. "From data collected so far, we have learned that some eagles travel up to 2,100 miles north from Arizona into different parts of Canada for the summer," says Mylea Bayless, a biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The study began because officials expressed interest in learning what parts of Camp Navajo eagles use during the winter. The military base is about eight miles west of Flagstaff, and biologists wanted to know whether activities at Camp Navajo would have any impacts on wintering bald eagles in northern Arizona. While learning more about the eagles' movements in Arizona during the winter, the researchers also discovered the birds were flying incredibly far over the summer. With funding from the Army National Guard, department biologists worked cooperatively with Camp Navajo staff in trapping six bald eagles during the winter of 2004. Four adults and two juveniles were captured. Biologists weighed and measured the eagles and fitted them with backpacks equipped with GPS-satellite transmitters. Researchers use the transmitters to monitor the eagles' migration paths. The transmitters send signals that can be downloaded via computer, and biologists can plot out the different locations of the birds. The backpacks only weigh 100 grams, less than 2 percent of each bird's total body weight, so they do not affect the eagles' movements or flight. The transmitters have delivered the birds' migration information six times daily since they were put on the eagles. "It has been interesting to learn that many of the eagles follow the same travel corridor while migrating," says department biologist Valerie Horncastle. "It is exciting to see how far the birds travel." Military officials are also welcoming this opportunity to contribute and participate in the research and monitoring of eagles. "The Arizona Army National Guard is interested in bald eagle populations in northern Arizona," says Camp Navajo biologist Tom Parker. "We are looking forward to seeing the final results of this study." If you're interested in seeing eagles in northern Arizona, then keep your eyes on the skies now. In early December, several eagles returned to Camp Navajo and the surrounding area. Approximately 325 eagles winter in Arizona every year. In northern Arizona, you can observe eagles at Upper and Lower Lake Mary and at Mormon, Ashurst, Whitehorse and Sholtz lakes. The Arizona Game and Fish Department will also host a bald eagle workshop in February 2006. The date will soon be announced on the department's Web site, azgfd.gov. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|