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Northern Channel Island Update; June 30-July 7, 2009
Topic Started: Jul 8 2009, 07:48 AM (2,151 Views)
IWS Crew
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Hi everyone-

This week was a lot more action packed than it has been lately on Santa Cruz. As most of you probably know already, Peter came out for a few days this week so that we could officially begin our trapping season on the northern islands.

We continued using the same technique as in previous years, with a floating fish as our bait for the eagles. This year, we were hoping we might have better luck than last year and would have news of an eagle capture to report to everyone. Unfortunately, after three very long days out on the ocean, we were unable to catch any of the eagles on the island. Amanda, Peter, and myself all have very different feelings for Western Gulls now, as they foiled most of our attempts at catching eagles. It turns out they too love free fish, and often got to the fish as soon as we placed it in the water. We've decided we are going to postpone trapping until their breeding season is over, hoping that will keep a large majority of them away. Peter is also going to experiment more with making the nooses around the fish, as to optimize the chance of catching an eagle. He will be returning to work with Amanda and myself several times this summer and fall, so hopefully we will be able to catch some eagles and place new transmitters on them, as well as taking blood to find out contaminant levels.

Despite our ineffectiveness at catching eagles, we were able to get sightings and IDs on lots of birds while out on the water. Many of whom we haven't seen in quite some time.

While out trying to trap the birds at Cueva Valdez, we discovered a third mystery eagle, who we later identified as A-29. However, once he was discovered by A-00, a territorial dispute played out before our eyes. After being chased away by A-00, it appears that A-29 has moved to Pozo, according to GPS data. Hopefully he can find a mate and his own territory where he can build a nest next year.

A-29 getting ready to go after fish
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A-29 after catching fish and being chased by A-00
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A-00 and A-16 at Cueva Valdez
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We even found a mystery bird hanging out in the eucalyptus trees at Prisoner's Harbor. It was difficult to read her tags, but it's possible that it may have been A-37. The feathers were covering the first number, so we couldn't tell whether it was a 3 or a 5. Of course, when we actually find the eagles, we can't read their tags.

Eagle in Prisoner's Harbor
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We also attempted trapping both K-10 and K-26. Both eagles appeared uninterested, and when one came down for the fish, it was able to grab it exactly where we hadn't put our nooses and got away with a free fish. Hopefully that means they will come back next time we go out.

One of the Pelican Harbor eagles
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We headed to the south side of Santa Cruz as well, where we found the Willows pair, A-51 and A-45. A-45 headed for the hills right away, but we were able to spark some interest in A-51. However, not enough interest for her to get caught.

A-51 at Willows
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We continued along the south coastline in the boat and came across A-17 at Johnson's and Pozo. Unfortunately water conditions and kelp didn't help us catch this uninterested eagle. We managed to catch an adult western gull, so that definitely foiled our plans of catching her.

Continuing along the coast, we ran into another eagle at Pozo. It turned out to be A-64, but he was uninterested in coming down for our fish. It's possible he has not acquired the skills to catch his fish in the ocean yet. We may try and target trap him on some of the beaches around that coastline using a bow net or net launcher.

A-64 at Pozo
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We continued along the coast toward Sauces where we found two adult bald eagles. We put a fish out for them, but immediately western gulls came down and ruined our hopes of catching the eagle with our fish. The eagle came down afterwards to grab the free fish, and it turns out it was A-27, an eagle we have not yet seen this year. She seems to also be roaming in search of a territory. Perhaps she and A-29 should get together and build a nest next year.

A-27 at Sauces
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That's all in the news for this past week on Santa Cruz. Next week, Amanda will be returning to Santa Cruz to search for more eagles, while I will be heading to Santa Rosa Island to see what some of those eagles are up to.

Happy eagling,
Steph
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Eagle Duo
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Wow, Steph! Lots of action and sightings. Had too chuckle a little at the foiled attempts of trapping eagles. I'm sure ya'll didn't feel much like chuckling at the time, but it does make for a good story, eh?

Especially got a chuckle out of K10/K26's free fish. What a crafty pair they are!

Glad to hear you saw A-64 too.

Thanks for all you all do. Better luck next time with the trapping.
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beautifuleagles
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Great update Steph!!! Our PH pair are quite smart. Thanks for all the great work you and the crew do!! :ok: Great photos of all the eagles!
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catM
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Thanks for the great update. :)^
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summer818
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Steph, thanks again for all you and your staff do on SCI! Seeing Spirit, A64 is just heartwarming! :wub: I just love that little guy. I wish you luck in trapping these smart eagles, and those pesky gulls foiling the plan. :lol:

I hope you see A35 next time, she seems to have left Santa Barbara, and hope she headed home to her island to find a mate. I love a great eagle love story. <3
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Naturegal
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Steph - Thanks for keeping us informed about all your eagle sightings. Great photos too!
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harpo516
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Stephanie - great update - lots of lookers but no takers! and those gulls ...... phooey! at least they were interested so maybe next round curiousity will get the better of them and they'll be happy to take the free lunch! :X: lots of eagle sightings - fantastic! always look forward to the reports AND of course the photos!

wishing you lots of sightings during the next week - have a good one! thanks! :}^
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cdn-cdn
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Stephanie and team, thanks for the interesting update - highlights for me were reading about A-64 Spirit as well as some of the lesser-known eagles that you sighted. Glad to know that K-10 and K-26 are OK.
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EagleNut
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Steph - thanx for the great up-date. Not only are K10 and K26 the best eagle pair ever, they are also very smart and crafty. Good luck ever catching them. I'm thrilled with the news of A64. Keep up the good work and thank you for including us in your work. Camille
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gale
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thank you so much for all the hard work and so much info.
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Sara Oh
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Stephanie, how gratifying to see so many eagles flying free on SCI thanks to the IWS work over the years! Sorry you weren't successful in your mission, but I'm secretly glad the eagles are so hard to catch.
I agree with Summer, please keep an eye out for A-35. We miss her here, and I hope she is on a mate finding mission on SRI.
Thanks for a wonderful update!
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lovethebabies
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Wow, exciting report Stephanie! You've been busy. I'm so happy to hear you saw A64 Spirit! :wub:
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Patti
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Stephanie, another great report packed full of eagles. Thanks for the super photos too. I also hope you get a sighting of A-35 and was hoping it was the second digit that was in question, not the 3.

Looking forward to your next Update!
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SoCal Lady
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Really Enjoyed your UPDATE STEPHANIE ! Lots of lovely eagle photos! Happy to see A64 is still out there on the Island and you got a really nice :clk: of him.

I know it is important for the Eagle Research but I share Sara's feelings too--Quoting SaraOh :
"Sorry you weren't successful in your mission, but I'm secretly glad the eagles are so hard to catch"

Thank you for your interesting UPDATE and glad so many eagles presented themselves to you all. :**:
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Cricket
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It's a shame in a way the Eagles out smarted everyone who was trying to capture them. Good to hear K-10, K-26, and Spirit are all ok. I was getting worried about Spirit this week when I hadn't seen anything posted about him for a while.

Hopefully the next time the Score will read IWS Crew 100
Eagles 0
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