Wing-Tagged Encounters of Goldens Eagles Captured in Montana (Poster)

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increase in concern for Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) populations in the western United States. The concern stems from a marked decrease in the number of migrants and concern over an increase in future threats from a variety of anthropogenic factors including, but not limited to, energy development. Thus, there is a need for more information on Golden Eagles including: where they winter, longevity, causes of mortality and critical habit needs. Standard banding offers low encounter rates (<7%) and satellite telemetry is cost prohibitive. We began auxiliary marking Golden Eagles with vinyl wing-tag markers as a cost effective means to gather information on the species. Since 2004, we have wing-tagged over 214 eagles, and re-encountered 46 individuals, giving us a 21% encounter rate. This technique is proving considerably more effective than banding alone as a means of identifying individuals and receiving re-encounter information. We attribute this success, in part to internet information sharing and the increasing use of remote cameras set up on carcasses to view scavenger activity.