Bald eagle migration research - 72

Steve Lewis, Raptor Management Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (left), and Rachel Wheat, a graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz, cross the partially frozen Chilkat River to remove the traps they set to catch bald eagles. The countless footsteps in the snow are testament to their pre-sunrise trips onto the gravel bar to set the traps under the cover of darkness and the late afternoon removal of the traps each day. Wheat is conducting a bald eagle migration study of eagles that visit the Chilkat River for her doctoral dissertation. She hopes to learn how closely eagles track salmon availability across time and space. The bald eagles are being tracked using solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters (also known as a PTT - platform transmitter terminal) that attach to the backs of the eagles using a lightweight harness. During late fall, bald eagles congregate along the Chilkat River to feed on salmon. This gathering of bald eagles in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is believed to be one of the largest gatherings of bald eagles in the world.

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Alaska Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Alaska Department of Natural Resources Alaska State Parks America BAEA Bald Eagle Council Grounds Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Chilkat River Chilkat River Bald Eagle Preserve Department of the Interior Haines Haliaeetus leucocephalus Klukwan North America Rachel E. Wheat Rachel Wheat Stephen B. Lewis Steve Lewis Takhin Ridge Takhinsha Mountains U.S. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service UCSC US USA USFWS United States United States of America University of California University of California - Santa Cruz animal animals aves avian bald eagle bird bird of prey birds birds of prey eagle eagles education fauna frozen graduate student horizontal ice nature outdoor research outdoors protected land raptors research scenery snow southeast Alaska team work teamwork two people water wildlife

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Bald eagle research - Chilkat River eagle migration study