Audubon Special Guest Chat 4-11-19 at 8pm

SWFEC Special Guest Chat: Shawnlei Breeding – Manager, Audubon Florida EagleWatch Program, April 11, 2019 8pm

 

Essec09 (Admin): SWFEC would like to extend a very warm welcome to Audubon Florida EagleWatch Program Manager, Shawnlei Breeding. We are very excited to have her join us this evening. Many of our SWFEC viewers provided questions earlier for Shawnlei. She will try to answer as many as time allows. The first part of the session will address the questions that were already submitted.

 

Essec09 (Admin): Welcome to SWFEC Shawnlei!

GinnyLWI (Admin): Good evening Shawnlei , we are all so looking forward to this special chat this evening.

MsSmith57 (Admin): Good evening and a huge SWFEC welcome to you Shawnlei

purpleagle (Admin): Good evening Shawnlei! We are so excited to have you here with us this evening for our special chat session!

RobertoD (Admin): Welcome, and thank you Shawnlei We are all excited to have you here!

icecream247 (Admin): Good evening Shawnlei. So happy you were able to join us this evening.

Sue_Lyons (Admin): Hello Shawnlei, thank you so much for spending time with us tonight! We are looking forward to learning from you

samour17 (Admin): Good evening Shawnlei and looking forward to this evening.

Shelli22 (Admin): Hi Shawnlei...I'm stoked to hear what you have to share with us!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! And thank you to the Pritchetts for inviting me! I’m honored to get to spend some time with you to answer your questions and chat about eagles! I was asked to briefly share a bit about myself. I received a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Oklahoma and had always dreamed of working with animals but fell into an administrative job for a number of years before switching gears to pursue that dream. I worked for a few years as a vet tech and then was hired as a Zookeeper at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL. Then I accepted a position with Disney’s Animal Kingdom where I was a Bird Keeper in their Avian Research Center for 12 years.

During that time I went back to school to get a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Central Florida. That experienced opened doors which lead me to my current position with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. I’ve always loved Audubon and was so excited to get to work with them! So now that you now a bit about me, let's get started!

 

HOeagletfan1: thank you Shawnlei for joshing us and sharing your Eagle wisdom with us !

LCampbell75: Good Evening Shawlei...So nice to have you to chat with us tonight!!! Thanks for coming!!

Deen622: Good evening Mods and Shawnlei!

MagEagle9: I couldn't be more blessed to 'work' with this lady! Welcome my friend!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thank you!

SueUMc: Good evening Shawnlei- much appreciation!

cats3eagles: Thank you for being here with us tonight Shawnlei!

Janet1: Good evening Shawlei. So nice to have you here tonight

Peggy180: Good evening, Shawnee, thank you for joining us tonight!

Carrie Brooks: GE what a treat!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Here's our first question.... Peggy Main asks: Shawnlei, thank you for your time with us! What has been the most challenging part of your job(s)?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Great question, Peggy. Everyone brings their own unique strengths to their role, so I suspect the answer might be different if you asked my predecessors. But for me, the most challenging part of the role has probably been the people side of things. People who love eagles are REALLY passionate about them. And it’s not uncommon in the world of conservation for there to be many different (and strongly held opinions) on how to accomplish our goals, or what our focus should be. I’m a peacemaker at heart, so I had to quickly learn that I can’t please everyone. I receive mean emails and get yelled at on a fairly regular basis and have had to learn not to take it personally, which is hard. I try to remind myself of the passion that is behind the emotion. I've definitely learned and grown so much! And the challenges have made me a better person. And leader.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Next up. Lauren Roberts asks: Hi Shawnlei and SWFL mods! I am an Eagle Watch volunteer and would just like to make a comment. Anyone that is thinking of volunteering, please do so! Your observations and reporting can help with studies and give insight to all the people, like Shawnlei, that are able to reach out to all organizations to help these amazing creatures! If you're already watching nests, why not let your observations be known! You might just see something that all eagles can benefit from!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thank you for all you do as a volunteer! EagleWatch started 26 years ago with the goal of protecting nesting eagles in Florida We started in 3 counties with 22 volunteers and are now in 40+ counties with over 300 volunteers! Lauren makes a great point about the importance of the nest data we collect. This information is useful for showing general trends in the population. For example, EagleWatch data will show if the number of chicks surviving to fledge at the nests we watch is starting to decline. Then can delve further into the data to determine possible causes of that decline (disturbance, nest location, habitat, water quality).

 

vlpritchett (Moderator): Hey Shawnlei, This is Ginnie Pritchett McSpadden. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. So excited to see what viewers are asking and your thoughts on Bald Eagles in our state o FL!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thanks, Ginnie!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Babs Liberty asks: Could you explain the process of when someone in the Eagle Watch program sees a problem at or in a nest including the process of what happens after that as far as who is contacted & how they determine the rehab facility the eaglet goes to? Is it always Audubon or others? SWFEC could you post that great link about the program in the chat maybe at the end for the next two days? Thanks!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Babs! EagleWatch volunteers are trained to respond to a variety of potential problems at a nest, from human disturbance to injured eagles. For nest disturbances by humans, volunteers are asked to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Hotline Alert: 888-404-3922. FWC is the law enforcement in our state for the federal laws protecting eagles and will send out an officer to determine if the law is being violated. Anyone can call this number if they have a concern about something happening near an active nest. FWC may also be contacted if you encounter an injured eagle. My office is at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey and we work closely with many licensed raptor rehab facilities around the state. These organizations will often contact me when they recover an injured eagle. If it is a young eagle, I share our nest information to help them find a home for the young one if it can’t go back to its own nest. Some of the rehabbers we work with may not have a license to hold an eagle for treatment so will transfer it to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey or another facility in their area that is licensed to rehab an eagle. Thankfully we have a broad network of caring rehabilitation facilities across the state! To learn more about EagleWatch, visit: cbop.audubon.org/conservation/about-eaglewatch-program.Yo... find information about EagleWatch as well as opportunities to support the amazing work that they do at the Raptor Trauma Clinic, which treats over 700 injured birds of prey each year. About 70-80 of those patients are Bald eagles

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Mohammed Abul Magd asks: This year I have noticed an increased violence against protected birds. Vultures and eagles shot by arrows and guns. In your point of view, why is that? And what measures do we need to implement in order to stop this?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Mohammed! At times it certainly feels like there has been an increase in violent acts against protected birds, but our intake data at the Center for Birds of Prey indicates no significant increase in these types of events. Looking back at 10 years of our intake records, only 1% of the patients had been shot. I suspect we are hearing about them more because of the prevalence of social media and the rapidity with which these types of stories are passed along. But it’s a good reminder for people that Bald eagles and other protected birds still face challenges and need our help.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): DaveinMissouri asks: SBAudubon, would you be able to have any influence on asking manufacturers of lead bullets and fishing tackle to not use lead bullets for hunting. For fishing use alternative weights, not lead, and don't discard line or weights in the water. Maybe more warnings to hunters and fishermen on the products and better education when receiving a hunting or fishing license. Thank you for being here and for any help on this subject!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Great suggestion, Dave. These are both difficult battles to fight. I think it will take everyone raising their voice together and sharing the numbers of birds affected---and the stories behind those numbers of the birds that have been affected by lead poisoning or hung up in fishing line. Whenever I get a chance to speak somewhere I always touch on ways we can help raptors and I raise both of these points-stop using lead bullets and don’t cut the line. If a few people are reached and then share it in their realm of influence, perhaps we can change it at the grass roots level. Sort of like the societal pressure for restaurants to stop using straws. These are definitely topics of concern for our state and the federal wildlife agencies.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Androcat asks: Of the EagleWatch eaglets/fledglings, what diseases/health issues/injuries/or necropsy results are most commonly seen? Part 2. Have any EagleWatch fledglings that have come into care had lead exposures show up in the blood work done while in care?

SBAudubon (Moderator): I like your user name! Androcat.

As I mentioned, my office is at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. Most of the eaglets we receive in our Raptor Trauma Clinic have fallen out of their nest for whatever reason. Surprisingly, they don’t often break any bones in the fall like you would expect. Generally after a round of meds to treat any internal parasites and some fluids and good food to fatten them up, they can be released. Other issues we’ll see with eaglets are Avian Pox, which is spread by mosquitos and causes wart-like lesions on the dry skin around their eyes, beak and feet. Sometimes the pox lesion will grow so large it will cover an eye or their nares. It’s treatable but can internalize and be fatal. But we’ve also seen cases of an eaglet in a nest with a bad case of pox and he got over it on his own. A couple of years ago, we got permission from US Fish and Wildlife to use a high-reach lift to rescue an eaglet from a nest that had a treble fishing lure with one hook caught in his beak and the other hook caught in his foot. He was basically hog-tied and was unable to eat. Thankfully the EagleWatch volunteers noticed something was wrong and we were able to rescue him and treat his wounds. He was released back at his nest a few weeks later. In general, the leading cause of injury for adult raptors we see in our Clinic is impact related issues, usually from car strikes. We also see a number of eagles who get secondary poisoning from consuming euthanized animals that aren’t properly buried at a landfill. This can be fatal if they aren’t rescued in time. But thankfully with just a couple of days of fluids to flush their system, they are usually as good as new! We do see lead toxicity in some of the birds.We are fortunate to have our own machine to test for lead levels, thanks to the generosity of some of our corporate donors. It allows us to quickly determine if they have lead in their system so we can start the treatment early. They usually recover from it with treatment. We usually see lead issues in birds that come from more rural areas where they may scavenge on a carcass that has been shot with lead bullets.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Donna LaFleur asks: Was that were BOB was?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Yes! Bob was a famous patient at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey for about a year. Because of his injuries, he was no longer able to fly so was not releasable to the wild. We all wished we could’ve kept him at the Center but we just didn’t have room. So a lengthy search was made for the perfect forever home for Bob. (Bob was an adult Bald eagle) While we searched, Bob lived in our 100ft flight barn where he hung out with all of the other eagles that came through on their way to being released back into the wild. Including Peace, the young eagle from the American Eagle Foundation NE Florida Eagle Cam.

Bob now lives at the Ecotarium in Worcester, MA. We all miss him but are so happy for him to have a great home.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): mdofmich asks: Any studies being done on three adult eagle nests?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Aren’t those fascinating? Several cases of three adult eagle nests have been documented but I’m not aware of any published studies on them. Often when you see something unusual like that in breeding behavior, it’s an adaptation to a limitation—not enough females for males or vice versa. And perhaps its enough of a challenge in those areas to provide enough food for the young that they tolerate a helper. But that’s my own speculation. One thing I’ve learned is to never say “birds never do that” or “birds always do that”. Because they will always surprise you! It’s one of the many reasons I love working with them.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Androcat: Q#1. Of the EagleWatch nests, are there any banded nesting adults, and if so, were the numbers of the bands able to be read to determine any history of the banded eagle parent? Part 2 of this question: If any EagleWatch fledglings have been banded in care, have there been any band sightings or returns (interested in where it migrated to or returned to, or what happened).

SBAudubon (Moderator): Androcat is back with another great question! The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey has a banding permit and we do band every Bald eagle we treat before release with a silver federal band. That band has a 9 digit unique code but unfortunately is almost impossible to read enough of the code to positively ID the bird. But having said that, we do have a number of nests monitored by EagleWatch that have banded adults. One nest in Lake County has a banded adult that we suspect is one we know. The breeding male had been rescued on the ground near this nest a few years before and then was banded and released. After that, a banded adult showed up at the nest the next season. We haven’t been able to confirm it’s him, but it makes sense that it probably is him. His patient number was 007. Like James Bond. The nest is in a neighborhood on the lake and all of the residents keep a close eye on that family. They love 007!

Two years we started an auxiliary banding program with the juvenile eagles we treat and release. In addition to the silver federal band, young eagles get a colored band on their other leg with an easy-to-read code in large white letters and numbers. Many of these banded juveniles are seen near their release location for the next few days but then take off on their migration. It can take up to 8 years on average for the first band resighting but we’ve been fortunate to receive a couple of reports of our banded youngsters being seen. Last July we got a report from West Virginia for one of our fledglings who had been released a month earlier in Lake county. That was our first report of one of a band outside of Florida! I think everyone heard me scream from excitement a mile away! This fall I got a photo from an EagleWatch volunteer in Pinellas County of one our bird who was banded two years ago and released in Orange County. That was encouraging to see that he had survived his first two years. So keep your eyes out for our birds! They either have a black band with two white numbers over a white A, or a green band with a white K over two white numbers.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Judy Shepherd asks: What is it like to be holding or standing right next to a bald eagle? I'm assuming you have based on the photo.

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Judy! It’s as amazing as you probably can imagine. I am fortunate to get to handle our eagle ambassadors at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. They are so large and majestic. It’s really cool to be that close to them. Handling them is not without its challenges, though. They are 8-10 lbs, so I had to start lifting weights to carry them. And they are still wild animals, and like any wild animal, they can be dangerous. I’ve learned to read their moods and respect their power and capabilities. But I try to never take it for granted that I have this privilege. Insider tip: their call is really loud when it’s right in your ear. And they have bad breath.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Valerie Seyforth Clayton asks: Where do we think Florida Eagles go when they fledge? Where do we think our adult adults go when they are out of the area? (June, July, Aug)

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Valerie! Valerie is one of our dedicated EagleWatch volunteers in the Florida panhandle!

OrchrdHs asked as similar question: What is the longest distance a banded bald eagle has been recorded as traveling seasonally from/to Florida?

So I thought I would address them together. In 1998 USFWS to put a satellite tracking device on a pre-fledgling in a nest in Polk county. When she fledged, she flew all the way north to Canada and spent the summer there, returning to Florida for the winter (where she traveled around the Central Florida region, going as far south as Lake Okeechobee and visiting both coasts). She made this migration for the next 3 years until the transmitter fell off. In 2014 she was badly injured in a territory fight in Deltona and was rescued and transferred to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Unfortunately, she had to have part of her right wing amputated so she is a permanent resident at our Center—at the ripe young age of 21! Her name is Tallulah. Last year I received a photo of a banded eagle from an Orlando resident. The eagle also had the remnants of a satellite tracking pack on her back. I was able to track down the researcher who banded the bird. He said she was banded as an adult in Maine in 2015 and the tracking data indicated she spent her winters in Orlando and returned to Maine in the spring (their breeding season). Her pack has stopped transmitting the previous year. So it appears that FL eagles mostly migrate up the Atlantic flyway as far as Canada

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Peggy180 asks: How does the hormone ghrelin make birds feel they have to migrate? What happens if a bird does not have enough to eat and is not full. Will that stop them from migrating?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Peggy 180! That’s an interesting question. Migration is such a complex behavior, influenced by many factors that are still not well understood. And different bird species have different migratory patterns. In Piping plovers, the female leaves before the young have fledged, leaving the male behind to finish raising the young. When the young make their first flight south, they don’t follow their dad or even stick together. They take off seemingly not knowing where they are going. So for some, migration seems very instinctual while for other birds it is more of a societal cue—they learn the route from older birds by following them.

Body condition is certainly an important factor when a bird prepares to migrate. That’s why fattening up on their wintering grounds is so important. And why I always encourage parents of young children to teach their kids not to chase birds on the beach. Many of these birds are exhausted after migrating or are resting and preparing to start the trip. Using up energy and fat stores to run or fly away from being chased by humans puts them at risk of not being fit enough to survive the journey. But from what I’ve read, it sounds like ghrelin plays a role in signaling to some birds when they are fat enough to start that journey. But for truly migratory species, I think there are other important signals the birds receives that would drive it to start the migratory journey even if it’s not full. Sadly, not all birds survive their migration. Birds with insufficient fat stores may not make it back or if they do, they may be in too poor of a condition to defend a nest and raise a family. I’ve done shorebird surveys in February and have seen numbers of weak or deceased seabirds on the beach who didn’t make it. It’s heart-breaking to witness but reminds me how fragile life is and what a tough life it is out there for many birds.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Judy Jirasek asks: Why do some states like Florida have so many eagles and some states don't have many? I live in Central Texas and we don't have eagles here. There are so many lakes and rivers throughout the state so I don't understand why Texas doesn't have many.

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Judy from Texas! I’ve asked that question about tarantulas in Florida. Our climate is a lot like many of the Central American countries where you find tarantulas in great numbers. But we don’t have any in Florida. Why not? But that’s a question for another time. From a strict biology standpoint, the size of a population in an area is the result of the carrying capacity of its historic range, along with the birth and death and rate of immigration and emigration. That’s a long sentence to say if there aren’t a lot of eagles in Texas, it may simply be that historically there never were many there and the birth and death rate of those who live there is roughly equal so that the population is static. It could also be something related to climate or food source, two important factors in determining where species breed. Florida has one of the largest Bald eagle populations in the lower 48 states and biologists often wonder what our carrying capacity may be. i.e. will we reach a point where there is not enough nesting or foraging sites to sustain the population. When that happens, you will often see the range of a species start to spread as the adventurous birds strike out to stake their claim on the edge of the historic range. Over time, if they are successful, the range will continue to creep outwards.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Selena Elizondo-Cepeda asks: What states have best Eagle Nest results?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Great question, Selena. Florida’s population is doing well. Last season, for the nests that EagleWatch monitors, they fledged 1.3 chicks per nesting attempt. Nests that were successful fledged 1.65 young per nest. I don’t have great statistics for other states to compare with but have read that some states are seeing a decline in the number of nests that are hatching and fledgling two young. They speculated that this may be due to reaching its carrying capacity for that area. In Florida, the majority of the nests we monitor still produce 2 young, and each year ~10% of our nests hatch and fledge 3 young. That’s a testament to the large prey base here, that eagles can catch enough food to successfully raise three voracious eagles.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Annie Keeley asks: When Juvies leave the Northern States for winter do they return and fly together?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Research studies indicate that Bald eagles don’t migrate together. They may share common stopover spots for foraging and refueling as they travel, but ultimately they make the journey alone.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Carl Berube asks: Are there any current studies or research taking place on migration of young/sub-adult eagles on the east coast? And are there documented cases of a sub-adult eagle returning permanently to the nest area they hatched at?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Carl, a study published in 2008 using satellite tracking indicated that sub-adults migrate up the Atlantic Flyway as far as Canada. Their routes varied somewhat going north and returning south during the first year or two, but as they aged, they showed more fidelity to a set route, indicating they were gaining experience in migrating as they aged. A study in 2014 based on banding data indicates that Bald eagles in general tend to disperse from 40-90 miles from where they were born to breed, with females dispersing greater distances than males (which is a typical life strategy for many species of bird to promote genetic diversity). However, one of our EagleWatch volunteers reported a banded adult at a newly documented nest in Martin County a year ago. When I reported the band to the researcher, I learned that the male was banded as a chick in a nest in Polk County in 2000. Our report was the first time he’d been seen since then! So 18 years later he had traveled 118 miles SE from where he hatched to breed.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Jackie Brown asks: Do you believe the parents and their off springs would recognize each other- if the kids came back into the area after leaving for a period of time?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Eagles seem to have a way or recognizing others. Mates indicate some level of recognition in that they mate for life and return to each other each season. They will often tolerate juvenile birds who visit their nest, even if not their own young. Last season we have several nests that we monitored that had an extra fledgling show up and join the family for a few days and the parents took them in. The parents were OK with it although the young in the nest seemed annoyed. We use this to our advantage in the rehab community so that we are able to rehome young eagles into foster nests if they can’t go back to their own nest or family for some reason. Our Clinic supervisor likes to joke that the adults either can’t count or don’t care.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Linda L. Reid asks: Are there statistics on the percentage of juvies who make it to 5 years old! I heard it is low and that is sad!!! Looking forward to the chat session! And JudyJirasek: What is the lastest statistics for a young Eagle surviving to adulthood and how do you know?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Linda and Judy! You all had similar questions so thought I would address them together. The most dangerous time for a young Bald eagle is the first year. Recent studies using satellite tracking in several states indicate survival rates of 60-75% that first year. If birds survive that first year, their mortality rate drops to 10-15%into adulthood. We know these statistics thanks to bird banding.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Daunelle Danish asks: If a bald eagle pair abandon a nest will another bald eagle pair most likely move into that nest?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Daunelle! Another EagleWatch volunteer! Having a breeding territory is incredibly valuable to a nesting pair, so much so that they will defend it to their death. So it would be unusual for a pair to abandon a territory. What is more likely is that they may be ejected for the territory by another pair that takes their nest, or a mate dies and the survivor finds another mate in the area. Sometimes you’ll have a nest that hasn’t been active in several years that is suddenly active again. Is it the same pair or a new one? It’s hard to say with any certainty unless the eagles are banded.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Isabelle Brunelle asks: How does the eagle know/determine the sex of another eagle for "bonding" purposes?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Eagles are dimorphic, meaning the females are substantially larger than the males, so those physical cues would play a big role. Behavioral clues likely also play a role. Females are much more dominant and aggressive. I would imagine there a number of nuances that the human eye doesn’t notice that eagles pick up on that signal whether the other bird is male or female.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): NHDalGal asks: Are altercations between eagles, when fighting for territory or a nest, usually female vs.female or male vs. male? If yes, is this because males may not prevail in a fight with a female because females are larger than males?

SBAudubon (Moderator): That’s a great question, and one that I hadn’t really thought about before! I know that both adults defend the nest and will fight but I have not read anything in the literature that says males only fight males and females only fight females. It would make sense if that is true for the reason you mentioned, the size difference. Anecdotally, with eagles we see that come into the Center as the result of a territory fight, it does seem that they are from same-sex fights. If anyone’s heard of females fighting males, let me know!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Pamela Dorman Wright asks: Hi, Shawnlei and mods! Since eagles have moved from "endangered" to "protected" status, is there a designated point at which they will no longer fall under the "protected" parameters? Thanks and I hope your chat will be available for later viewing!

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Pamela, Thanks for the question. As you know, eagles were once on the brink of extinction but made an incredible come-back when laws were put in place to protect them. Their numbers have increased enough that they were removed from the federal list of Threatened and Endangered species just over 10 years ago. But Bald eagles are still protected by a federal law known as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act has recently loosened some of their permitting processes based on data that indicates the population is doing well. The permits issued are directly related to the size and health of the populations. These permits allow for "take" of eagles or their nests. So if anything, I think the authorities may allow more take permits in the future if the population continues to do well and grow. The data that EagleWatch collects is used to help track the status of the population in Florida and is shared with both state and federal authorities. Because of America’s affinity for our national bird, I suspect eagles will always be protected in some measure.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Bonnie Rinehart asks: I always wonder how do they get water when young?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Good question! As with most raptors, they majority of the moisture they need from the food they consume as chicks in the nest. But as adults you will sometimes see them getting a drink from a pond, but if anything, they are usually bathing. They like to keep it clean!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Daunelle Danish asks: Hi Shawnlei, question: is there such thing of infertility in young bald eagles and if yes, do they hatch with that condition or could it be caused by injury, or both?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Infertility can affect birds of any age. Sometimes it is a genetic defect they are born with and sometimes it develops later in life due to injury or other health issues. As with most animals, birds enter a period of senescence in their later years where they are no longer reproductive.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Christine Napoline Lonabaugh asks: Do we know how old Harriet is? How long can she breed?

SBAudubon (Moderator): The wonderful moderators helped me with these questions. Here is what they said: The adults are not banded,so there is no way of knowing their exact age. Based on local viewers who have watched Harriet over the years, Harriet is at least 20 years of age. She has been seen at this nest since 2006. If she is the same female that nested across the street she could be in her mid 20s - this is taking into consideration that eagles mature and usually begin breeding at around five years of age.

Regarding how long they can breed, if they are healthy, I would imagine that like most birds, they can breed for much of their adult life. They are a long-lived species, living into their late 30’s/early 40’s in the wild.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Babs Liberty asks: Are the Eagle Watch training programs online or at specific locations. If online, can one sign up for the training but not actually join the program (for educational purposes)? Is there a cost? How many sessions are there? Is the training a one-time event or at different times during the year. I will try to think of more questions.

SBAudubon (Moderator): EagleWatch volunteer trainings are held in the fall and are mostly in-person at 8-10 locations around the state. I also held several online web trainings for the first time last year to reach those who live in areas that I don’t make it to for trainings. The trainings are focused on what we do, protocols, etiquette, etc. You are certainly welcome to sign up to attend. There is no cost to attend and no requirement that you continue on to volunteer. If you’re interested in being notified of the training dates and locations, email me at eaglewatch@audubon.org to be added to our email list.

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thank you so much for your time and for the great questions.

 

beju: Did Bob go to a zoo, there as some talk last year it could be a possibility

SBAudubon (Moderator): Yes! Bob went to the Ecotarium in Massachusetts. It's a zoological and educational facility.

 

MagEagle9: Would you explain what 'take' means in the permitting process?

PamW2017: Shawnlei - Can you explain what a "take" permit is?

Opalillie Colligan: Hi. What does it mean to "take" of eagles or their nests?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thanks, yes

"Take" is the term used when a permit is issued to remove a nest (which is illegal without a permit, even if the nest is not being used). The other type of take permit covers work near a nest that may cause the nest to fail or may cause loss of life for an adult or the young

 

MelodyCS: Are internal parasites common? And if not treated, is it life threatening?

SBAudubon (Moderator): Internal parasites seem to be fairly common. At a low level they are not a concern. But if the bird is weakened or the load gets too high, it could potentially be fatal.

 

WPBEgal: Do you only monitor nests or do you take information on frequent eagle sightings in an area?

SBAudubon (Moderator): We only collect nest data. Ebird is a great resource for posting your eagle sightings

 

samour17 (Admin): Good evening Shawnlei. I am curious if the possible banding of all eaglets has been discussed for future studies similar to those being done at the Catalina Islands for their reintroduction program.

SBAudubon (Moderator): Currently our permit only allows us to band young eagles that come to our clinic for treatment. So we don’t actively climb up to the nest and band young in the nest like come research projects do. The color of the band we put on the eaglet is based on what type of nest they came from: green bands for eaglets from nests in trees and black bands for eaglets from nests on artificial structures (cell towers, power line transmission towers, platforms). The goal of our study is to determine if the type of nest they hatched in influences their nest choice at maturity. Because it takes juveniles 5 years to reach sexual maturity, this is a long term study, so I suspect we’ll focus on these methods for the foreseeable future. Great question!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thank you again for having me! I hope you will consider visiting the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey the next time you are in the Central Florida area! You may visit our website for more information: cbop.audubon.org/visit-us. And don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or ever need help with an injured eagle or eagle nest issue. I can be reached via email at 407-644-0190 or eaglewatch@audubon.org.

Essec09 (Admin): I want to thank you for sharing your evening with us Shawnlei. It was so informative and I really enjoyed it. We will be posting this session on SWFEC’s Flickr account by this weekend so that everyone will be able to read it. Thank you again! It was so nice “meeting you”. And thank you to the Pritchetts for setting this session up!

 

icecream247 (Admin): thank you Shawnlei, Very informative.

MtGal30: TY Shawnlei, Ginnie, Modsquad,Pritchett's n Peepers. I learned so much more about BE's tonight. Thoughtful questions were featured with some surprising answers!

DaveinMissouri: Thank you so much Shawnlei for taking time to be here tonight, it was very interesting seeing your answers to the questions being asked! Please come back when you can!

Sue_Lyons (Admin): Shawnlei thank you so much, this has been enlightening and educational - we so appreciate your time tonight!

 

SBAudubon (Moderator): Good night everyone!

 

Joanne Campbell: Thank you!

WPBEgal: Thank you Shawnlei!

Jackie Brown: Welcome Shawnie and thank you for coming to SWFE chat tonight.

MsSmith57 (Admin): Thank you Shawnlei, so much great information, Good night.

Megster: Thank you for joining this most special group of Admins and chatters Shawnllei

BckEE: Hello, Shawnlei! Welcome, and thank you!

Babs628: Thanks, Shawnlei, for joining this great chat with us tonight. Looking forward to all of the educational information you will be sharing with us tonight.

Gail Siebler: SB Audubon. Welcome to the SW world. I know you will enjoy it here. Such nice folks to share your info and ideas with.

vlpritchett (Moderator): Thank you Shawnlei and everyone for joining us tonight!

Sharon Davis: Nice to have you with us tonight shawnlei it's hard to pronounce really don't have any questions I'll just read

Valerie Seyforth Clayton: Hi Shawnlei this is Valerie. Thank you for all you do. I monitor 9 nests in the Panhandle for Eagle watch.My love of eagles began with E9. Thank you Shawnlei for all you do. Thank you to Dick Pritchett for the cam. Love my H and M15

HOeagletfan1: Night all and thanks Shawnlei SEDs

EJsbe: Thank you Shawnlei!

MelodyCS: A big thank you

Elaine Herbert: Welcome, Shawnlei! we are excited to have you with us!

Daunelle Danish: Thank you Shawnlei

Deen622: Thank you Shawnlei so much valuable information learned alot!

Susan Kiser: Thank you so very much for all of this very informative info Shawnlei! I am copying/pasting it to OpenOffice right now and I can't wait to read it later!

Ilene Horwitz: Thank you for so much information, Shawnlei, the hour flew by!

dadsjazz (Admin): Thanks so much for all the very valuable information!

monieagl11: Thank You Shawnlei so much was so informative

Essec09 (Admin): There are a few questions that Shawnlei wasn't able to get to. We will forward them to her by email and post the answers if she is able to answer them. Thank you all for joining us this evening. Was a wonderful, informative session.

purpleagle (Admin): Thank you Shawnlei for sharing your evening with us. I'm sure that you were able to answer many of our viewers questions !

E9Lover2: Thank you Shawnie for all the amazing knowledge you shared with us tonight. Hope you will visit with us again maybe next session?

RobertoD (Admin): Shawnlei, thank you very much for all of the information about migration! It’s my favorite subject Especially for mentioning Piping Plovers, and how you encourage parents with children to not chase after birds on the beach. I work and live on a barrier island off the SC coast and we do see Plovers migrating through each year. They stop here to refuel on the eggs of Horseshoe Crabs. Our problem here is dogs off of leashes which is difficult to control. I manage to get photos each year of banded Piping Plovers and am always fascinated by the data that I get back when I report the sightings. Thank you so much for being here tonight!

MelodyCS: I'm still giggling at, eagles have bad breath lol

LNBirdLady: Hello everyone. Thank you for all your information tonight. FYI, I visited Bob at the Ecotarium last summer. He had a new young female eagle joining him who was named Dianne after the author of the book Eagle One who raised eaglets in MA.

Peggy180: Thank you so much, Shawnlei. That information was absolutely fascinating!

SoarFreeE9: Thank you Shawnlei!!

beju: Thank you so very muchShawnlei

 

Macky Miller: I am a firm believer that protecting our precious wildlife has to start with the young. Our moderators have sessions with the schools. Have schools been receptive to your coming in and talking to the students? Have you been able to get younger children involved? I suspect they would, in turn, go back home and bring their parents into the picture. Hope I'm not off the wall with my thinking. I thank you for being here tonight.

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi Macky! So true. Children are the future! And we do get many opportunities through the Center for Birds of Prey to go into schools and talk about the importance of eagles and other raptors and how we can help protect them. One of our EagleWatch volunteers is a grade school technology teacher and she uses the SW FL Eagle cam in her classroom. It’s really heartwarming to hear her stories.

 

jsheptwo: Shawnlei, thank you SO much....this has just been fascinating and so much wonderful information. I found the point about eagles scavaging on euthanized animals not buried deeply enough somewhat disturbing. Would that possibly be as a result of farmers leaving their euthanized animals out?

SBAudubon (Moderator): You make a good point. I had assumed that farmers were required to property dispose of euthanized animals. If not, that could certainly be one of the causes. But in most cases when we’ve received an eagle that has signs of secondary barbiturate poisoning (the chemical used to euthanize animals), they are found at a landfill or within half a mile of a landfill. Landfills are supposed to properly bury euthanized animals they receive. So when we identify a landfill that is a repeat offender, we work with them and the Florida Dept of Environmental Protection to help them address the issue.

 

Janet1: Thank you Shawnlei for all the information have a good night

JudyJirasek: Very informative thank you very much

Shannon Jemison Price: Thank you, Shawnlei! What a wonderful session tonight. Thank you for all you do and for your time tonight.

hootie-hoo: Shawnlei, Thank you for sharing your evening with us! DaveM great question about lead awareness!

katbate: Great, informative session. Thank you so much

Androcat: Thank you Shawnlei! Favorite chat session ever! Thank you Pritchett family for yet another gift!

PamW2017: Shawnlie - Many thanks for answering our questions! Very informative, and hope you can come back some time.

Carol Guarco Myers: Thank you all for coordinating. What a great hour! Time flies!

trusteagles: Thank you so much, Shawnlei. As Essec said, it was a pleasure to meet you. I learned so much tonight. Thank you,Ginnie, for making this happen.

NHDalGal: Wow! This was an awesome addition to our chat. I hope we can do things like this again. Thank you to Shawnlei and the Pritchetts for making this available to us.

TinEar: I think the operative word tonight was "take" which startled several people apparently. I also though it meant to hunt/kill/harvest and was a bit alarmed at first until getting Shawnlei's explanation.

Pat Kwap Kemble: Thank you Shawnlei for teaching us so much about eagles.

OrchrdHs: Super interesting and reminds us that there is still so much to learn about these magnificent birds. Adding notes to my eagle journal and now I have more ideas for research and then can share with others who are interested in BEs. Thanks so much!

Tom Sawyer: Thank you to Shawnlei for all the great information! I would like to see an answer to Sams last question myself? That was an interesting and very relevant question regarding banding considerations.

Beverly Morden Hall: Shawnlie thank you so much. I can't wait to read it all GAIN. iT IS FACINATING

lucybird: Thanks all for this special chat. It was so very informative. What a treat Thank you Ginni P for putting this together WOW.

Eagletoe06: Many thanks to Ginnie Pritchett & Shawnlei! Very informative & great statistics! Always learning!

Lauren Roberts: Thank you to the Pritchetts for having Shawnlei join us tonight. And thank you, Shawnlei. She is the BEST! I'm having computer issues and was afraid I would miss it. SO back to work on that for me. Thank you Mods for getting that all set up for us! SEDs all!

scurtis123: Thank you to our hosts and speaker, and other eagle fans here!

TinEar: Shawnlie certainly opened the door for those interested to further their eagle education with the free training classes held around the state of FL. Here's your opportunity.

Jackie Brown: Thanks Eagle Squad for having our guess Shawnlei with is tonight. Thanks Pritchett family for providing us the opportunity to always learn about our eagle family.

Babs628: That was very enjoyable, educational and thought-provoking. Definitely a copy & paste to keep for reference. Thank you, Shawnlei & the SWFEC & Pritchett family for arranging this great Q & A.

AndrewNH26: Thank you Shawnlie << Notice the 3 Eagles in oct on cam 2 nodding yes to eveything you shared Lol

TaraTrac: Please thank Shawnlei for this informative and inspiring talk! The timing couldn't be better because I'm signing up for an introductory class and nest viewing by our East Bay Regional Park Dist. citizen Raptor Research program, with a focus on bald eagles. Thanks Essec, SueL, Roberto, Sam for hosting her. And GE viewers.....great talk, huh?

Nancy Phillips: Thanks Pritchett's and all involved in this chat, Shawnlie was so interesting and I learned a lot more about our great Eagles, great chat!

MagEagle9: Thank you Ginnie for the great idea of this chat with Shawnlei and thank you Essec and awesome mods for making it happen! I get to work with her thru EagleWatch and the days I volunteer at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. I was blessed to spend the morning with her at 2 eagle releases! That is what it is all about-getting them back home! I hope to meet you the next time you visit our amazing center Ginnie! If any of you are ever near central Florida it is well worth the visit!

 

floridafox: Hi all question: Why is it unlawful to pick up an eagle feather from the ground it doesn’t seem to affect any natural events in an Eagles life ty

SBAudubon (Moderator): Hi floridafox! You are referring to the federal law that protects eagles and all of their body parts so that it is illegal to own an eagle feather or any body part without a federal permit. I didn’t realize until I came to this position that even deceased eagles found on the road, or wherever they may be found, must be properly disposed of. FWC often brings deceased eagles to our Clinic for processing. We have to report the death to US Fish and Wildlife and they direct us as to what to do with the body—either send it to a lab for necropsy to determine if the cause of death was something illegal or to the eagle repository where the remains are made available to American Indians for use in their religious ceremonies. So it’s quite a process. I suspect the law is as strict as it is because allowing the collection of eagle feathers could be a slippery slope—was the feather found on the ground or did someone shoot the eagle to get the feather and then hide the remains? Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous people out there and as is often the case, our laws are shaped to prevent the worst.

 

LCampbell75: Those were great questions...I learned a lot... thanks for doing this...and why do you guys name the eagles and we at SWEFC don't??

SBAudubon (Moderator): Thanks! Are you referring to my story about Bob and Peace? We don’t actually name our eagle patients at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Peace was named by the folks at the NE FL Eagle Cam, which is operated by the American Eagle Foundation, and they do name their eagles. When Peace came to our clinic for treatment, all of their camera followers began watching the live feed from our flight barn and they are the ones who gave the name Bob to the adult eagle who “fostered” Peace. We refer to our patients by their patient number. Although we do go on to name any non-releasable raptors who become permanent residents at our facility. At that point, they become family.

 

Done