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The Nature Conservancy in California Home Places We Protect Features Explore Conservation Spotlight News Ways to Donate Contact |
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Eaglet A-65 Found Dead
August 22 — We are sad to report on the morning of August 8, A-65 — the eaglet with the fractured wing, known to some as “Skye” — was found dead and floating in a kelp bed off the eastern shore of Santa Cruz Island’s Twin Harbor.
With no external injuries found and previous days’ observations indicating he was healthy, the cause of events is unknown.
On a positive note, eaglet sibling A-64 remains healthy and has been seen soaring the cliffs on the west end of the island. Check out the Ventura County Office of Education online discussion forum for photos of A-64 in flight, as well as more information and updates on sibling A-65’s death.
Eaglets Doing Well!
July 17 — Eaglet A-64, the chick who suffered a punctured beak during the May nest attack, fledged from its hack tower on July 1. The eaglet is reportedly doing great and will be closely monitored by biologists.
A-64's sibling was transported back to the island on July 14 after undergoing surgery and veterinary care on his fractured wing. The eaglet currently resides in a hack tower and is being monitored by Institute for Wildlife Studies staff. Once given a clean bill of health, the doors to the hack tower will be opened for its release.
Eaglets Are On the Mend!
June 19 — The two eagle chicks who suffered injuries from a May 19 attack on Santa Cruz Island’s Pelican Harbor nest are on the mend!
On June 8, the eaglet with the punctured beak was transported back to Santa Cruz Island where it was banded, tagged and placed in a hack tower with another eaglet from northern California. Both chicks are getting along well and will remain in their new temporary home until they fledge.
The eaglet with the broken wing underwent successful surgery to reset its wing in late May and will be returned to the island within the next couple of weeks. The vet reports that both chick and its wing are healing well.
Read more about the surgery and eaglets' recovery on the Ventura County Office of Education online discussion board.
Eaglets Injured, but Safe
May 23 — Two seven-week-old bald eaglets on Santa Cruz Island were injured following a May 19 nest attack by an older eagle — but biologists expect them to recover.
"They should both survive," says Peter Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies. One chick suffered a punctured beak and the other a broken wing that requires surgery.
Find out what happened in this Q&A with Dr. Sharpe, and learn how you can help support eagle restoration work on the island.
Eaglets Attacked and Snatched from Nest
May 19, 2008 — The two eagle chicks on Santa Cruz Island's Pelican Harbor nest were attacked by another eagle. A viewer of the live nest cam alerted biologists on the island, who raced to the site. Read a full account of their rescue efforts at the online discussion board.
Both eaglets suffered injuries — one has a cracked beak and the other may have a fractured wing. But both appear to be doing well, having slept and eaten since their rescue. They have been flown to the mainland to be examined by a veterinarian.
Please check back here for more news as it becomes available.
The Bald Eagle Chicks Are Growing Fast!
May 6, 2008 — The two chicks born in early April are getting bigger every day! At just four weeks of age, they are already approximately one-third their adult size. By the time they are eight weeks old they will be fully grown — with a six-foot wingspan!
Read our Q&A with the biologists out on the island to learn more about the growing chicks. And be sure to keep an eye on the live nest cam during the last week of May, when biologists plan to enter the nests and retrieve the eaglets for banding — you could catch all the action live!
Chick Number Two Emerges From Its Shell!
April 3, 2008 — Two days after its sibling hatched, the second chick has emerged from its shell!
You can watch the chicks every day with the live nest cam. And check back here for future updates about the development of the chicks, including interviews with biologists on Santa Cruz Island.
The First Chick Has Hatched!
April 1, 2008 — The first chick has poked its way out of its shell! Viewers of the live nest cam heard peeps and observed movements early this morning. By 7:30 a.m., the chick had emerged.
The parents — K-10 and K-26 — are busy tending to the new chick and incubating the remaining egg. The second chick is due to hatch any day now. Keep an eye on the nest cam — you could see the hatching live!
They're Back!
March 11, 2008 — For the third year in a row, bald eagles are nesting on The Nature Conservancy's preserve on Santa Cruz Island.
Scientists have spotted three nesting pairs so far, including the birds that researchers labeled K-10 and K-26 — the famous duo whose 2006 chick was the first wild-born eagle on Santa Cruz Island in more than 50 years.
Eagles Go Digital
The webcam on the nest of K-10 and K-26 was launched in 2006 by the Ventura County Office of Education, the National Park Service and the Institute for Wildlife Studies. The nest is located on the portion of Santa Cruz Island owned by The Nature Conservancy.
In 2007, this flagship collaborative effort allowed thousands of people to tune in live and see a chick emerge from its shell early in the morning on April 13. In subsequent months, viewers watched as the chick (tagged A-63) developed to its full size, was banded by biologists and even took its first flight!
Unfortunately, eaglet A-63 was killed just six weeks after fledging the nest. While the somber reality is that 50 percent of eagles don't survive their first year, the death of A-63 was particularly sad for the many fans who had watched his birth and growth via the live web cam.
This year, biologists and interns with the Institute for Wildlife Studies are back working harder than ever to help restore the bald eagle to Santa Cruz and the other northern Channel Islands.
The Story of a Comeback
Bald eagles disappeared from the Channel Islands in the mid 1900s, poisoned by DDT. Chemical companies flushed the pesticide into the ocean via the Los Angeles sewer system until it was banned in the early 1970s.
For more than 20 years scientists tried to reestablish the birds on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. But the lingering effects of DDT made the birds’ eggshells too thin to hatch without human intervention.
The National Park Service in 2002 began introducing bald eagles to Santa Cruz Island, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Sixty-one chicks — around 12 per year — were reintroduced during the five-year program. The first group of eagles reached breeding age in 2006, and that year one female produced a chick with a male from the Catalina Island reintroduction efforts.
The two chicks born on Santa Cruz Island in 2006 were the first chicks to hatch unaided anywhere on the Channel Islands since bald eagle restoration efforts began. The 2007 births made biologists hopeful that DDT levels in eggs have sufficiently declined and bald eagles will once again thrive on the Channel Islands.
One thing is certain: These historic births, which have captivated eagles’ fans around the world, represent a turning point for the future of the majestic bald eagle in the Channel Islands.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images (Santa Cruz Island); Photo © Institiute for Wildlife Studies (Bald eagle in nest); Photo © National Park Service (Eagle video); Photo © James Glover II/Ventura County Star (Eagle banding).
