NEST WATCHER PROGRAM MARKS 30 YEARS OF PROTECTING BALD EAGLES
Photos: 1 | 2 (thumbnails, captions below)
By GRAYSON STEINBERG
Cronkite News Service
NEEDLE ROCK RECREATION AREA (Wednesday, April 16) _ At last count, 54 eaglets have been spotted in bald eagle nests around Arizona. And a program marking its 30th anniversary aims to make sure they come to no harm.
At this site along the Verde River northeast of Phoenix, members of the Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program demonstrated Wednesday how they keep an eye on bald eagle nests during breeding season, which lasts from December until the last eaglets leave the nest in May.
Kenneth “Tuk” Jacobson, bald eagle management coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said the bald eagle’s resurgence in Arizona _ there were just four nesting sites in 1972 _ is due in large part to the program, which began in 1978.
“The program is our first line of defense,” Jacobson said.
Nest watchers observe eagles’ behavior, report potentially threatening situations and educate the public about how to avoid disturbing the birds.
Jacobson said 15 eaglets that otherwise wouldn’t make it each year survive because of the nest watchers. Forty-two eaglets made it into the wild last year.
“Many of those birds we’ve saved over the years are back in the population,” Jacobson said.
In 2007, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed the bald eagle from its list of threatened and endangered species due to the growth of its population since the 1960s. However, a lawsuit forced the federal government to temporarily re-list the bald eagle in Arizona as threatened and make a final decision on the species’ status by early December.
Jen Lemieux, a nestwatcher who has been working here since February, said her work is fulfilling and great practice for a career in the wildlife field.
“You get to see the entire life cycle,” said Lemieux, who is originally from Vermont. “That’s a really rare opportunity in nature.”
As she spoke, an eagle circled above.
“We’re just getting a show this morning,” she said. “Usually, they hide this time of day.”
Lemieux, along with her co-worker and boyfriend, Phil Macaskill, must stay put until May, when the last of the eaglets leave the nest. Then they trek to Greer to observe eagles in mountain country, where chicks typically hatch later in the year.
These days, Lemieux and Macaskill work 13-hour days. For the couple, it’s worth the strain.
“It’s not a lot of money, but it doesn’t even matter,” Macaskill said. “It’s a really good chance to get some experience monitoring a particular species and really get to know it well.”
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Web Link:
_ Arizona Game and Fish: www.azgfd.gov
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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-BALD EAGLES: Phil Macaskill keeps track of bald eagles Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at Needle Rock Recreation Area along the Verde River northeast of Phoenix. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is marking the 30th year of a program that stations people such as Macaskill near bald eagle nests during breeding season to make sure the birds aren’t disturbed. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Grayson Steinberg)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-BALD EAGLES: Kenneth “Tuk” Jacobson, bald eagle program coordinator the Arizona Game and Fish Department, looks through a telescope Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at Needle Rock Recreation Area along the Verde River northeast of Phoenix. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is marking the 30th year of a program that stations people near bald eagle nests during breeding season to make sure the birds aren’t disturbed. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Grayson Steinberg)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-BALD EAGLES: A bald eagle is shown in flight in this undated Arizona Game and Fish Department photo. Game and Fish is marking the 30th year of a program that stations people near bald eagle nests during breeding season to make sure the birds aren’t disturbed. (Photo Credit: Arizona Game and Fish Department)