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	Eagles in 2003

Squam Eagles Raise Young for the First Time in 70+ Years

by Chris Martin,  Senior Biologist

The 2003 breeding season was a good one for New Hampshire's small but growing population of state-endangered Bald Eagles. Audubon biologists and volunteer observers, with assistance from our federal and state agency partners, documented eight territorial pairs of eagles in the state this year, up by one pair from 2002. We confirmed a record-high five pairs that attempted to incubate eggs. Three pairs successfully fledged a total of five chicks, the second-highest total since at least the 1940s. Perhaps most exciting was the first successful eagle nesting on Squam Lake in more than 70 years and the enthusiasm of the local Squam Lake conservation community, which took a lead role in an effort to minimize human-related disturbance of this first nesting attempt. Several specific eagle pairs continued to experience rather poor nesting success, yet the overall New Hampshire Bald Eagle recovery effort is on a positive track. Our state's recovery is benefiting greatly from our proximity to productive and expanding breeding populations in several neighboring northeastern states. Based on successful leg-band readings conducted on 13 individual eagles, nearly two-thirds originated at nests in either Massachusetts (4 birds), New York (2 birds), or Connecticut (2 birds). Site-by-site highlights from each of New Hampshire's known Bald Eagle breeding territories are discussed below, beginning with the three sites that successfully produced young in 2003. Umbagog Lake South (Errol) - Fledged two young. This breeding pair fledged young for the fourth straight year. Staff biologists from Audubon and the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge monitored nesting activity on this territory, which straddles the Maine border. For the third year in a row, the breeding pair settled in a former Osprey nest tree located on the New Hampshire side of the state line on land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The adult male eagle was unbanded, so we do not know his origin or age. The adult female eagle carried a blue band on her right leg, indicating she fledged from a nest somewhere in New York State. In late June, biologists affiliated with BioDiversity Research Institute and Florida Power and Light partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Audubon personnel to band both of the seven-week-old chicks and to obtain blood samples from each to test mercury levels in the local food web. Pontook Reservoir (Dummer) - Fledged two young. This pair fledged young for the second time in the past three years. Audubon staff and volunteers monitored nesting activity at this site overlooking the Androscoggin River above Pontook Reservoir. In early June, observers reported seeing three eaglets in the nest, but only two remained later that month. The adult male eagle, "blue F60," was a five-year-old bird banded in 1998 in a nest on Blake Falls Reservoir on the Raquette River in St. Lawrence County, New York. The adult female, "gold W74," was a seven-year-old bird banded in 1996 in a nest on Little Quabbin Island at Quabbin Reservoir in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. As was the case at the Umbagog Lake South nest, a team of biologists banded and obtained blood samples from both of the seven-week-old chicks. Squam Lake (Moultonborough) - Fledged one young. For the first time in over 70 years, eagles nested successfully on Squam Lake. Volunteers had frequently seen eagles perching in a white pine tree on Little Loon Island in the middle of the lake over the past several years, and we have been anticipating an eventual nesting attempt. This spring's ice-out brought news that the pair was finally incubating eggs in a rather unusual nest built in a so-called "witches'-broom," an abnormally dense cluster of tree branches caused by a parasitic fungus. In this case, the birds placed only a thin layer of dead branches and grasses atop the witches'-broom instead of building a massive stick nest. Observers saw two eaglets in the nest in mid-June, but only one of these chicks survived to fledge in mid-August, still quite an achievement for what likely were two first-time breeders. The adult male eagle, "gold W86," was a six-year-old bird banded in 1997 in a nest near Russ Mountain at Quabbin Reservoir in Franklin County, Massachusetts. The sub-adult female eagle wore a dark band on her right leg, indicating that she may have been produced in a Connecticut nest around 1999. Working with the landowner, local conservation groups, and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, plans are being made to raise sufficient funds this winter to purchase and install a set of durable marine buoys that will create a visible and much-needed permanent buffer zone around the nesting island. Vernon Dam (Hinsdale) - Failed after hatch. This pair failed to fledge young for the third time in the past four years. Audubon volunteers monitoring the nest detected incubation behavior in mid-March and hatch behavior by late April. By the third week of May, however, the nest had been abandoned and the cause of failure is unknown. Based on observations made during the 2002 season, we believe that the adult male eagle was again "black WW," a ten-year-old bird raised in 1993 at a nest on Barkhamsted Reservoir in Connecticut. The adult female bird was likely "gold W30," a ten-year-old bird fledged in 1993 from a nest on the Connecticut River in Northampton, Massachusetts. Nubanusit Lake (Antrim) - Failed during incubation. This year, breeding eagles in this multi-town territory in the state's Monadnock Region finally laid eggs in the same nest tree for two years in a row, but with the same end result: failure to fledge young. An Audubon volunteer monitoring the nest confirmed that incubation was underway by early April. However, the pair stopped tending the eggs after only two weeks. Eagles on this territory have utilized four different nesting trees since 1998. During 2003, they appeared to be doing "housekeeping" at three of these four sites. We were unable to learn much about the individual members of the pair, except that the male may have been a sub-adult bird and therefore new to the territory. Umbagog Lake North (Errol) - Did not lay eggs. The state's longest continuously occupied eagle breeding territory, located at the northern end of Umbagog Lake, produced 16 young eagles from 1989-2001, but has been non-productive for the past two years, during which time both members of the pair have apparently been replaced. In April, there was no nest present in the traditional nest tree at Leonard Pond. In May, the pair consisted of two unbanded adult-plumaged birds, confirming the loss of a silver-banded female that had been present since 1988. By early June, the two adults had partly rebuilt the Leonard Pond nest. But in late July, the adult female was seen with a different male eagle, this one an unbanded sub-adult. They were seen perching at a partly rebuilt former Osprey nest located downstream along the Androscoggin River. Moore's Crossing area (Bedford) - Did not lay eggs. Audubon volunteers monitoring eagles on the Merrimack River in southern New Hampshire continued to report some interesting events and unexpected behavior at this nest site during the past year. Just prior to the 2003 breeding season, a pair of unbanded adult eagles occupied the nest site, frequently sharing the nest tree with several over-wintering eagles. In mid-March, the adult pair was seen mating at the nest, but as was the case in both 2001 and 2002, these two birds disappeared from the area by the third week in March without laying eggs. In early April, observers were surprised to discover that another pair of eagles, this time two sub-adults, had found the nest and were engaged in courtship and mating behavior. These two birds were gone after three days, and there was little activity at the nest during the remainder of the breeding season. Ottauquechee/Connecticut Rivers (Plainfield) - Partial new nest. This summer a pair of adult eagles initiated a new nest in a huge white pine located on the east bank of the Connecticut River in Plainfield, not far from the mouth of Vermont's Ottauquechee River. Eagles have been wintering in this area in increasing numbers over the past few years, and observers will be monitoring the site closely this coming winter to watch for further evidence of courtship and nest-building. Last winter, several dozen Audubon volunteers conducted surveys for Bald Eagles along New Hampshire's major rivers and lakes, finding a record-high number of eagles wintering in the state. We need volunteers to monitor established routes and survey poits on a weekly basis throughout the winter to determine where important foraging, perching, and roosting sites are located. You can also participate in our state's portion of th enational Midwinter Eagle Survey, which will be held in mid-January. Volunteers can also check for signs of late-winter breeding activity at known nest sites. Please contact Chris Martin in the Conservation Department at 603-224-9909, ext 317, or at cmartin@nhaudubon.org to learn more about how you can get involved.