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	Eagles in New Hampshire

Finally ... More Nesting Eagles!

by Chris Martin, ASNH Senior Biologist

For the first time in more than half a century, New Hampshire hosted two nesting bald eagle pairs in 1998! Only one of these two pairs, the long established Umbagog pair, raised young this summer. Ongoing territorial behavior by a new pair discovered in southwest New Hampshire greatly improves the odds of increased bald eagle reproduction in the state over the next few years. At Umbagog Lake in northern New Hampshire, where eagles have nested for ten straight years, the thirteen-year old female and her current eight year old mate successfully raised two young in 1998. Since first breeding in 1989, this female has had two mates and has raised a total of eleven of her own offspring as well as two fostered eaglets. Observers affiliated with the Harris Center for Conservation Education began seeing two eagles together on lakes and ponds located in the adjacent towns of Hancock, Nelson, and Stoddard beginning in late May. This eagle pair's territory centered on Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond, an area in which eagle sightings have become more frequent over the past few years. Over the course of the summer, we learned a bit about these two individual birds and located their partially-built nest. The female eagle is a sub-adult (white head and tail with residual dark markings), thus almost certainly a four-year old. She does not have any leg bands. The male eagle is at least a five-year old bird (full adult plumage). Banded with a light colored alphanumeric band on his right leg and a standard aluminum band on his left leg, he is definitely not of New Hampshire origin. With patience, appropriate optical gear, and cooperation from the male eagle, biologists should eventually be able to read the digits on his color band and discover his precise age and identity. In several significant ways, development of the Nubanusit/Spoonwood pair in 1998 closely mirrors early stages in the formation of the Umbagog pair ten years ago. In 1988 at Umbagog, an individually-marked adult male originally from out of state attracted a younger female. In their first attempt, they built a poor excuse for a nest in a tree that would ultimately support nesting for the next decade. Like the Umbagog pair ten years before, the southwest New Hampshire pair constructed a less than impressive nest in 1998. The young female apparently did not lay eggs, but, like the Umbagog birds, the pair remained in the area and in close contact with each other all summer. Working with the N.H. Fish and Game Department, ASNH staff and volunteers will closely monitor activity in the Nubanusit/Spoonwood area through the fall and winter, anticipating another nesting attempt early next spring. Although bald eagles were "downlisted" to threatened on the federal endangered species list in 1995, they remain classified as endangered under New Hampshire's state law. If you live in southwest New Hampshire and would like to help us monitor these birds, please call either Chris Martin or Laura Deming in the ASNH Conservation Department at (603) 224-9909. Welcome || Birding Information || Current Research || Environment Naturalist || Programs || Centers || Join || Shopper || Index © 1998, 1999 Audubon Society of New Hampshire. All rights reserved.