Previously only overwintering here, a pair of bald eagles began nesting at Woods Reservoir at Arnold Air Force Base for the first time in 2009. They have built two additional nests since then, but only use one at any given time.Two or three eaglets have,
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On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published its updated collision risk model (“CRM”) for bald and golden eagles at wind energy facilities. The CRM is a complex Bayesian model the USFWS has endorsed to predict eagle fatalities at wind energy facilities seeking eagle incidental take authorization under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (“BGEPA”). The USFWS previously published the proposed updates to CRM for public comment on two occasions, seeking input on three alternatives: (1) Use updated species-specific model inputs and use the 80th quantile of the CRM update as the initial permitted take number; (2) Use updated species-specific model inputs but use a more risk-tolerant CRM approach for the initial permitted take number for bald eagles; and (3) initiate an expert elicitation process to further refine the bald eagle model inputs.
Study Finds Elevated Lead Levels In Bitterroot Valley Eagles
A recent study from RaptorView Research Institute in Missoula found that most golden eagles that wintered in the Bitterroot Valley between 2011 and 2018 had elevated levels of lead in their blood. RaptorView Executive Director Rob Domenech says lead in the birds is related to hunters using lead bullets.
In this video taken by researchers at MPG Ranch in Florence, a golden eagle pecks at an elk carcass that didn’t make it through a recent winter. The bird flies away after eating.
Researchers caught 91 golden eagles that wintered in the Bitterroot Valley and tested the level of lead in their blood. More than 90% of the birds had lead in their systems. Eight of the birds had enough lead in their blood to cause health problems.
Outdoornews
May 7, 2021
Bald eagles and other raptors are fully protected by federal law.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to the charging of the party responsible for killing two bald eagles near Blackduck River in Beltrami County.
On April 23, 2021, the Minnesota DNR received an anonymous tip about two dead bald eagles in a rural area near the Blackduck River in northwestern Minnesota. A preliminary investigation by the DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently ongoing. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents on the case sent in the eagle carcasses to the national forensics laboratory and have officially determined that the eagles were shot.