[CINC] Press release- Bald eaglets driven from their nest

[Clare.Fritzsche]

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT: Yvonne Menard, National Park Service, 805-658-5725
Gabrielle Dorr, MSRP, 562-980-3236

May 20, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Bald Eaglets Driven From Their Nest on the Northern Channel Islands
Yesterday two seven-week-old bald eagle chicks were unexpectedly taken 
from their
nest at Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island by an attacking sub-adult 
bald eagle.
Anxious eagle enthusiasts watched intently via the Channel Islands Live 
EagleCAM
as the young eaglets attempted to defend themselves. Within minutes of 
their first
encounter with the invading sub-adult bald eagle one of the chicks was 
snatched from
the nest. About an hour later the second chick was knocked out of the 
nest falling 30
feet below—the entire episode left eagle watchers devastated.

“This is a rare occurrence, I have never seen anything like this in my 
career as an
eagle biologist,” said Dr. Peter Sharpe with the Institute for Wildlife 
Studies (IWS).
“The EagleCAM allows us and enthusiasts to observe live bald eagle 
behavior and
learn more than previously known.”

As the incident unfolded, EagleCAM watchers quickly notified IWS 
biologists who
were nearby, having just returned from conducting eagle surveys 
offshore. A team of
four biologists briskly hiked out to the nest site and found the two 
young bald eagle
chicks under brush on the ground below the nest. A quick assessment 
revealed that
one of the young birds suffered a possible broken wing and the other a 
cracked bill.
To calm the birds, the biologists placed hoods over their heads and 
carefully
swaddled them for transport to a temporary care facility on the island. 
Today the pair
are being flown to a veterinary facility in Orange County to fully 
assess the extent of
their injuries.

As IWS biologists arrived at the nest site yesterday they observed one 
of the parent
bald eagles in aerial combat with the sub-adult intruder. Over the next 
few days they
will be analyzing transmitter data hoping to identify which of the 8 to 
12 sub-adults
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that reside on the northern Channel Islands is responsible for this 
attack to better
understand this unusual behavior.

The eagle chicks will not be returned to their nest near Pelican Harbor. 
Once the
chicks have recovered from their injuries, they will likely be placed in 
a “hack tower”
on Santa Cruz Island. They will be fed by biologists until they fledge 
in late June.
Today, nearly 40 bald eagles are in Channel Islands National Park as a 
result of a
restoration program that released 61 eagles between 2002 and 2006. This 
spring there
were four nests established on the northern Channel Islands, three on 
Santa Cruz
Island and one on Santa Rosa Island. Only two of the nests produced chicks,
including this nest at Pelican Harbor. On Catalina Island five nests 
have produced
seven young eaglets this spring

The EagleCAM is one of a number of educational opportunities offered as 
part of
Channel Islands Live (CHIL), a cooperative partnership between Channel 
Islands
National Park and the Ventura County Office of Education. The EagleCAM and
associated discussion board can be found at: 
http://chil.vcoe.org/eagle_cam.htm.
To see video of the nest incident go to: www.nps.gov/chis

The bald eagle restoration efforts on the Channel Islands are funded by 
the Montrose
Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP), a multi-agency government program
dedicated to restoring natural resources harmed by DDTs and PCBs 
released into the
environment. Further information on MSRP can be found at:
www.montroserestoration.gov.

The Institute for Wildlife Studies, a non-profit organization dedicated 
to the
conservation of wildlife species, has conducted bald eagle restoration 
on Catalina
Island for over 25 years, as well as efforts on the northern islands 
within Channel
Islands National Park. For links to webcams on Catalina and Santa Cruz 
Islands go
to: www.iws.org

This publication is available online at: 
www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/newsreleases.htm