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| Northern Channel Islands Update; April 14-21 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 23 2009, 11:43 AM (1,164 Views) | |
| IWS Crew | Apr 23 2009, 11:43 AM Post #1 |
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Hello everyone from the Northern Channel Islands. I hope that everyone got to spend a nice Easter break with their family and friends. Suzanne and I were greeted by forty knot winds and a rough ride across the Santa Barbara Channel. This tour David Roth our seasonal biologist was gone on vacation so Suzanne was on Santa Cruz and I was on Santa Rosa this tour. Usually by this time of the season we would be very busy alternating between observing the nests, but unfortunately that is not the case this year. Suzanne had a huge task to try and survey for our known pairs on Santa Cruz which is not easy by yourself and a few days of very strong winds. Unfortunately she did not have much luck even though she did get to do a boat survey. She was able to spot a third year BAEA flying south from the west end of Santa Cruz but it was too hard to identify the bird in flight. Telemetry data might reveal who it was, that is assuming the BAEA does have a GPS backpack. I went to Santa Rosa Island on a mission to observe the Trapp Canyon Nest and see what A-22 and A-08 were up to. I found them continuing to incubate on the nest without signs of any chick. The incubation duties on the nest did have long gaps of being unattended which reaffirmed to me that the egg will not hatch. We are several days over the possible hatching days of the eggs and so I feel that the BAEA are just instinctually trying to take care of the egg. This is the pair’s second attempt to breed and there are many things that could prevent the hatching of the egg. I am going to collect the eggs so that we can send them to a lab for contaminant analysis and we hope to get some kind of an idea as to why the egg might not have hatched. The later half of our tour we had incredibly hot days and I felt bad for the BAEA on the Trapp Canyon nest because it faces to the south and is protected from the wind making it so hot at the nest that the eagle would have to get up and lean up against the cliffs to get any kind of relief from the sun. I was unable to identify any other BAEA out here on Santa Rosa Island because of the heat waves. This is a photograph of a BAEA that flew out of the Torrey Pine forest on the east end of Santa Rosa and it perched out on the bluffs of Bechers Bay. ![]() While I was on the bluffs along the coast scanning for BAEA I was able to photograph a Hawk Moth that was feeding on the nectar of a native Cob Web Thistle that was next to me. ![]() This is a photograph of an Osprey that was perched near my observation point. ![]() Happy eagling |
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| Lauri | Apr 23 2009, 11:58 AM Post #2 |
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Oh, great photos! The one of the moth is spectacular. No go at Santa Rosa, huh? Just not a good eagle season for the northern islands, sigh. But there are adults and juvvies about so I know you'll be spotting them around. When do you think you'll try to get the Santa Rosa eggs? Lauri |
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| harpo516 | Apr 23 2009, 12:01 PM Post #3 |
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Hawk moth - that's pretty cool! so the weather isn't always cooperative in your endeavors for the eagles - winds and heat -mighty hot heat! Hope you get an answer or two if you can retrieve the egg - sorry that there are no chicks to observe and follow Hopefully you can find more pairs and nests and the come together for a successful season next year! Thanks for keeping us informed - awesome photos!
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| Naturegal | Apr 23 2009, 12:18 PM Post #4 |
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Thanks for your update. Sad news about A-22 and A-08, hopefully next year will be a successful nesting season for them. Wow - that moth is really something! Hope the weather cooperates more for all of you. I really look forward to all your photos and updates, thanks again. |
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| fishaterian | Apr 23 2009, 01:11 PM Post #5 |
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wow a hawk moth. I have seen something like that is our backyard about the time of dusk. At first I thought they were baby hummingbirds, but as I got close I could see it looked alot like your picture. Thanks for answering the mystery of our hummingbird-like moths.
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| iggle | Apr 23 2009, 01:53 PM Post #6 |
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Neither sun nor wind nor lack of telemetry will keep our intrepid IWS crew from their task! Thank you both for all your hard work in such unpleasant conditions. I'm sorry to hear that the hatch date for A08 & A22 has come and gone with no eaglets and will be interested to see if your tests of the egg(s) give any concrete answers. Depending on what you find out, would it be too much of a stretch to infer that the deaths of the PH chicks on Santa Cruz could be attributed to the same cause? |
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| Holly | Apr 23 2009, 02:33 PM Post #7 |
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Great pictures! I love the osprey and the moth is incredibly brilliant! My goodness, you all had quite a week battling the elements. That wind must have been ferocious! And the poor Trapp Canyon eagle in that hot sun! Hope you will be able to collect eggs soon. Take care out there, and thanks for the update.
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| SoCal Lady | Apr 23 2009, 02:40 PM Post #8 |
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What a week you all had between the unseasonable HEAT WAVE and the huge winds---Thankfully for you all things are back to normal again temperature and wind conditions. Your photo of the HawkMoth is beautiful and so is the thistle it is gathering nectar from. The Ospry take off photo is great! You all are intrepid troopers out there in some very adverse conditions at times. Thank you for all your caring and hard work
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| KarenTX | Apr 23 2009, 04:14 PM Post #9 |
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Wow I love all the great pictures! The moth and osprey were both wonderful. I am so sad that the Trapp canyon pair were not successful again this year. Poor things trying to incubate the egg in all that heat! Sometimes I wish we could install over the nests when I see the sun just beating down so hard on them!I am glad the weather has gotten a bit cooler now for you and all of the wildlife on the islands. Thanks for a great report! You all are doing a great job and I look forward to reading about what is happening out there each week. |
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| SheilaSB | Apr 24 2009, 06:44 PM Post #10 |
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Thanks for all your hard work for IWS - great update - always happy when updates are posted on all the ealges we can't see on the cams - without you we wouldn't know what was happening. |
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| summer818 | Apr 25 2009, 02:54 PM Post #11 |
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Great update, those 40 knot winds in the channel are wicked! You're troopers, and thanks so much for your updates and your much appreciated work.
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| Misty | Apr 25 2009, 10:58 PM Post #12 |
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Thank-you IWS crew for your continual updates...much appreciated I know you would tell us if you had any info on A-64, poor little guy, he's my absolute favorite and I wait patiently every week for some news on him...hopefully someone see's him soon, would be good to know he's OK and thriving :rolleyes:
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| davetheagle | Apr 26 2009, 02:12 PM Post #13 |
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i like the 1st far away photo. it gives me a sense of lonlieness, long gone and far away. sorry to hear about the potential lost egg. this place i feel has become noticeably more quiet since the loss of k10 and k26's chicks. at least in the nest observation pages anyway. as always, keep up the great updates.
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Hopefully you can find more pairs and nests and the come together for a successful season next year! Thanks for keeping us informed - awesome photos!

I know you would tell us if you had any info on A-64, poor little guy, he's my absolute favorite and I wait patiently every week for some news on him...hopefully someone see's him soon, would be good to know he's OK and thriving
:rolleyes:
6:43 AM Jul 11