[ValleyNature] 2010 Eagles/Raptors Count Results & Eagle Watch report

[James W. Wolford]

JAN. 30, 2010 (cont.) - Later I heard from Richard Hennigar that some  
of the Sheffield Mills bald eagles were uncharacteristically still  
feeding in that Middle Dyke Road field with the dead chickens in very  
late afternoon/dusk, by which time most or all of the eagles are  
usually in their overnight roosts.

JAN. 31, 2010 - Providence delivered a beautiful perfect, wintry,  
sunny day for  the 19th ANNUAL EAGLE WATCH WEEKEND II SUNDAY and for  
the 29TH ANNUAL CYRIL K. COLDWELL EAGLES AND RAPTORS COUNT OF EASTERN  
KING'S COUNTY.

29th EAGLES/RAPTORS COUNT RESULTS:
Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010

It was sunny and very cold, with temperatures from -14 to -9 C., and  
the wind from the west was much more moderate than on the previous  
two days.  We had 27 observers in 16 field parties from 10 to 11 a.m.  
in designated areas, and the preliminary results were the following  
totals:

427 BALD EAGLES -- 245 adults (58%), 176 immatures (42%), 6 unknown age;
54 RED-TAILED HAWKS, including the WHITE one at Hortonville;
4 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (one in dark phase);
1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK;
1 MERLIN;
2 COYOTES (n. & e. of Grand Pre, & s. and e. of Canning );
also 15 horned larks, 150 waxwings(mostly cedars?), 12 robins, 3  
cardinals.

I may write a bit more later on this count and our 29 years of  
history of these counts.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and I hope everyone had a few  
thoughts for our late mentors Cyril Coldwell and Peter C. Smith on  
Sunday.  Needless to say, we are all free to do something else next  
Sunday, although the Eagle Watch minus the breakfast will still be on  
at the Sheffield Mills Community Hall, with displays, coffee, tea,  
juice, muffins, warmth, bathrooms, etc.
---------------------

(The waxwings, robins, and 2 of the cardinals were in my Wolfville  
neighborhood.)

The EAGLE WATCH at the Community Hall went very well today, in marked  
contrast to the very slow day yesterday (horrible weather).  Today  
they served about 400 breakfasts, and the volunteer cooks et al. were  
going "flat out" all morning and into early afternoon.

I left the Hall at 2:30 p.m. and checked on what was happening at  
"Swetnam's Field" (feeding site at n. end of Middle Dyke Rd.).  There  
were about 20 bald eagles present, mostly perched in the trees  
ringing the field, but some were flying both high and low, and on the  
ground at the carrion were about 25 great black-backed gulls and up  
to 10 ravens.  Quite a few vehicles and photographers were still  
present, quite a few people were out of their cars in the cold with  
the wind at their backs and hoping for some action.

When there are perched eagles and some are flying, it's always  
interesting to watch those in the air when they decides it's time to  
perch.  Eagles are very social during the non-breeding season, and  
they must know a lot of individuals by sight.  Although there are  
usually lots of empty branches on which to land, flying individuals  
often seem to relish choosing a target eagle to displace, and I  
imagine there must be a complex dominance hierarchy among them based  
on experience plus size and age.  Remember that, at all ages,  
including among the nestlings still in the nest, females are  
considerably larger than males, in all raptors (the opposite from  
most birds in which males are largest).  Also recall that fledging  
eagles are already as large or larger than they will ever get.  Thus  
these social interactions are always fun to watch, both in the trees  
and on the ground when displacing others in order to steal food.

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