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	Eagles in 2000

Eagles: More Pairs, But No Young

by Chris Martin

Pontook Reservoir's resident female eagle soars over her nest. Photo by Chris Martin Spirits were sky high among New Hampshire's Bald Eagle watchers this past April. After all, the experienced Umbagog Lake pair was due to hatch any day. Another established pair in Nelson had moved to a more secure, predator-proof tree, a third pair in Hinsdale was incubating on an island in the Connecticut River, and Audubon volunteer Leith Jones had just discovered nest-building by a fourth pair near Pontook Reservoir. It had been well over half a century since three eagle pairs had attempted to hatch eggs simultaneously in the state, and now we were tracking pairs at four occupied nests. The stage certainly appeared to be set for record-breaking success, but the 2000 eagle breeding season did not turn out as it had been scripted. Clouds of disappointment The traditional nesting territory at the northern end of Umbagog Lake failed to produce young this season, with nest abandonment coinciding with a bitterly cold and wet period that occurred at hatching time in late April. Although it is not yet confirmed, Audubon and Lake Umbagog NWR staff also suspect that one member of the nesting pair may have been replaced since last fall, since a sub-adult eagle was seen repeatedly at the nest during the summer, and that this may have contributed to the failure. In southwestern New Hampshire, the Nubanusit Lake/Spoonwood Pond pair had built a new nest high in a lightning-damaged white pine overlooking Spoonwood Pond, forsaking the Nubanusit nest raided by raccoons in 1999, and was incubating by the end of March. The Hinsdale pair also started incubating, for the first time, by the last week of March, in a cottonwood tree nest they had started to build in 1999. Observers monitoring both pairs saw behavioral changes that suggested hatch in early May, but no one ever saw food deliveries to either nest. Both pairs had clearly abandoned their nests after a span of the hottest weather of the entire year occurred in early May. Although eagles are well equipped to keep newly hatched chicks warm, how are they supposed to keep them cool under glaring sun when no leaves are out on the trees to provide overhead cover? Wintering Bald Eagle Volunteers Needed Are you looking for a reason to spend some time outdoors this winter? Why not join our wintering Bald Eagle monitoring project? Each winter, dozens of Audubon volunteers conduct surveys for eagles along New Hampshire's rivers and lakes, scanning trees, sky, and ice for these large birds of prey. Volunteers are needed to monitor established routes and survey points on a weekly basis to determine where important foraging, perching, and roosting sites are located. We also coordinate our state's portion of the national Midwinter Eagle Survey, which is conducted in mid-January. Please contact Chris Martin in the Conservation Department (by phone at (603) 224-9909, ext. 317, or by e-mail at cmartin@nhaudubon.org) to learn more about this exciting project. A silver lining Despite the complete reproductive failure experienced by Bald Eagles in the Granite State this past summer, there is good reason to remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for this federally listed threatened species. Coordinated watches at Umbagog and along the 15-Mile Falls portion of the Connecticut River, combined with season-long reports from elsewhere across the state, provide us with a minimum estimate of 34 individual Bald Eagles present in New Hampshire this summer. The Pontook Reservoir pair built a substantial nest 84 feet up in a 102-foot white pine overlooking the Androscoggin River this spring; they appear to be primed for their first reproductive attempt in 2001. At Squam Lake, an adult male and a sub-adult female eagle have been frequenting the shores and islands since at least May, and, while no nest has yet been found, this pair will likely be working on one this fall. Year-round eagle activity on the Connecticut River reservoirs near Littleton continues to suggest the presence of at least a territorial pair. Close, but ... One final positive development, long-anticipated by all who monitor eagles at Umbagog Lake, was the discovery in June of a second nesting pair on the lake. After coordinating breeding eagle monitoring for Audubon for more than 10 years, I had the distinctly personal thrill of "discovering" my first active eagle nest since I moved to the state in 1990. This southern Umbagog pair, which spends a great deal of time foraging in New Hampshire waters, produced two fledglings this summer in a gnarly white pine located in the middle of a recent clearcut on land that is managed by Wagner Forest Management. But since this pair's nest was located roughly 100 yards east of the state border, their success goes onto Maine's eagle tally sheet! Thanks to all who helped to monitor New Hampshire's increasing eagle population during the 2000 breeding season. Special recognition goes to Antioch New England graduate student Amber Pairis, to Nubanusit Lake Association members Dave and Nellie Robinson and Dave Birchenough, to Mark O'Zenich of Village Landscaping and Tree Service, and to Kathy Dube for spending so many late-winter days tracking eagles at Pontook. And remember, the 2001 Bald Eagle breeding season is just four short months away!