Friday, August 10, 2007

PS 72-161: Restoration of bald eagles to the northern channel islands

Jennifer A. Boyce, NOAA Restoration Center and Annie Little, United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Channel Islands off of southern California were a historic stronghold for the American bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). The last known bald eagle nest on the northern Channel Islands was seen in 1949, and the birds disappeared from the islands by the early 1960’s primarily due to the impacts of DDT pollution. In 2002, the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program initiated a study to determine the feasibility of recolonizing the northern Channel Islands with bald eagles. This study involves releasing juvenile bald eagles on Santa Cruz Island (one of the northern Channel Islands) and monitoring the continued effects of DDT on reproduction. From 2002-2006, approximately 60 juvenile bald eagles were released on Santa Cruz Island. As part of the study, biologists monitor the movements of the birds using satellite telemetry and collect prey species for contaminant analysis. 2007 marked the second year that a bald eagle pair successfully bred on Santa Cruz Island bringing hope that bald eagles will reestablish on all the Channel Islands.

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