Click Here for more pictures
This bird also has a whip antenna -- and possibly a solar pack according to Ritchey Elliot who spotted the bird. From my one observation I could not see the back.

Who know this bird? Where is it from?

I would love to keep track of this bird as it moves around on its migration and winter activities in this area or elsewhere.

We are tracking the bird here whenever it is seen -- time, date and place. I would ask for any of our followers to record the same -- and this applies for any banded / tagged bird. In this case this forum can act as a place for posting the records. Hopefully someone will come up with a way of summarizing them. We will all benefit and the original bander will be thrilled at getting all the supportive data. If the bird is being tracked by satellite then further daily details on feeding habits, roosting ares, and specific locations and activities will help fill in the picture.

Tracking a bird simultaneously by satellite and ground observations is marvelous -- and very reassuring.

We look forward to hearing of the birds origins and following its life history -- day to day.


david

David I posted a link to your question on this eagle at the forum that has been tracking A-46.
Here's is a response that I recieved from Paula.


Looks like A-46, please direct him to http://www.iws.org. Click on interactive, then, track an eagle, bald eagle, and you will see the map for a-46. I tried to reply in your forum, but had a problem with the registration.
--------------------
Paula
On the East Coast in Emmitsburg, MD
http://www.eagletmomsters.com

Yes my research says it is A 46 as well.
Very Cool!

Tracking map

I've sent an email to the National Parks Service, which covers the Channel Islands in the Santa Cruz, California Area. I've included a link to this topic and my email address. If NPS contacts me, I'll pass the information on to you.

edited to add: I posted my reply before at the same time these other replies were posted. Guess we're on the ball!

Great ... lol I sent an e-mail to the IWS with a link to Davids' pictures
We should get a confirmation from somewhere

Wow JKR...what a great site...with interactive Eagle tracking. They stopped tracking A46 November 6, 2006...so has he been hanging around the garbage dump since then, I wonder?

Here is where he was when they last recorded him.
(Clickable thumbnail of tracking map for A46)

I should have also added the link to the forum that had given me information on A-46. Here it is.

http://z7.invisionfree.com/CHIL_EagleCA ... hp?act=idx

A-46 should be equipped with both a solar powered GPS transmitter (which uploads GPS coordinates on the bird via satellite link), and a VHF radio transmitter, also solar powered.

The GPS data is only uploaded periodically, so it is not a constant monitoring. It may be the information on the website hasn't been brought up to date, or there haven't been new data sent from the GPS. If the radio transmitter is still working it is possible to get a signal from the bird, although of course you have to be listening for it.

Isn't it wonderful that A46 has decided to visit David A46 was seen yesterday and this morning, if I understood David correctly. Now that is one smart eaglet, finding an Eagle Expert to visit

Your photo is indeed bald eagle A-46 from Santa Cruz Island, California. It was hatched this year at the San Francisco Zoo from an egg produced by one of their captive pairs of eagles, placed in a release tower on Santa Cruz Island when it was 8 weeks old, and released when it was 12 weeks old. It has a GPS unit on its back that sends us data every three days as long as the battery gets charged by a small solar panel. The day length in British Columbia must have gotten too short to recharge the battery because the last data we received from this bird was on Nov. 6. This bird is also known as Stephen Jr., after the Colbert Report's Stephen Colbert. It has been featured many times on his program. You can track the bird (at least when we receive data) on our website at http://www.iws.org (under Interactive). I'd appreciate receiving any photos or sightings of this bird so that I can add it to our database. You can contact me at sharpe@iws.org.

Thanks.

Apparently the GPS unit on A46 is not giving data now because the battery is dead (Dr. Sharpe just posted and explained there isn't enough sunlight to recharge the battery - I'm not sure if that's a permanent condition or whether it's due to him being further north and the time of year).

Edit: Ah - I see Dr. Sharpe has beaten me to it in person

A reply from Kate Faulkner:

Yes, #46 is one of the bald eagles that was hacked onto Santa Cruz Island as part of a study to determine if DDT contamination has lessened enough to allow reestablishment of the species.

As you saw, the birds have radio transmitters so we can follow their
movements.

Thank you so much for the sighting report.

There are a couple of places you can get more information on the bald eagle recovery project:

click here

click here

Take care,
Kate Faulkner

Kate Faulkner
Channel Islands National Park
1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001
805-658-5709
kate_faulkner@nps.gov

Maybe #46 got carried here by our strong storms of late. There was a report on the local (Vancouver area) news yesterday of a juvenile brown pelican being saved from hypothermia. He was discovered last week in a snow bank at White Rock just south of Vancouver. The TV news clip showed the frostbite blisters on his feet - and the warm bath he was in to re-acclimatize him to more normal (for him) conditions. After rehab he will be shipped back - by air - to central California where he should be! Interestingly, too - on Nov. 24th a brown pelican was spotted at the Little Qualicum estuary and photographed by a local (Nanoose) bird photographer - Tony Markle. Of particular interest was that the pelican is shown being harassed by a juvenile bald eagle. I would love to post the picture, but don't want to infringe on Tony Markle's copywrite.

Edited to show correct name!
Edited a second time to say that the Little Qualicum Estuary is on the east coast of Vancouver Island, not far from Hornby Island.

I just spoke to Tony Markle. He consented to me showing this photo on this forum - he was not too satisfied with the quality - but the sighting was a total surprise to him. However, he said that it is not totally unknown for these pelicans to come this far north - but it is unusual.


(click)

Well, it was exciting reading this thread when I got home today. As soon as I saw the blue sign on that eagle's wing, I thought that's A-46 from Santa Cruz! And then our detective posters got to work and got all the way to Dr. Sharpe of IWS! Interesting how one eagle biologist puts up the picture and through this forum it goes right back to the biologist involved in hacking and banding the juvenile.

Takecare - glad you were able to post the Tony Markle picture.

Tell Tony Frank from Victoria (Fred Miranda Site & he will know who I am) say hi, and that is an amazing picture he got. Thanks for posting it here.

Wow, very impressive all this technology is!! Just boggles the mind
What an interesting read tonight!

Further to the story about the pelicans - Richard said he saw brown pelicans at Goldstream when he was there last week and also, they rescued a pelican up here in Campbell River about 2 weeks ago. I think quite of few of them must of gone way off course during our recent stormy weather.

It's obvious to me now, from looking at the interactive tracking map and the timeline, that A-46 came this way voluntarily!! He crossed over to Van. Island around August 9th, was up around Campbell River by August 11th (hey, maybe he visited Hornby) then he headed north east of Campbell River, crossing Georgia Strait and appears to have 'hung out' south of Bella Coola for the remainder of August. Bet he was hanging out with all of the other juveniles visiting the salmon spawning areas in September and October. Of course, our wicked storms in November may have prevented him heading back south - but it looks as though he might have been gorging on spawned out Canadian salmon and was not inclined to head south!! Maybe he got sidetracked in the Vancouver dump - after all these guys are scavengers - he might have grown tired of salmon!!

I bet his solar charged batteries haven't just suffered from the shorter days - we've had virtually no sun for the last six weeks!! And it's not going to improve any day soon!

Edited to add that clicking on the map at http://www.iws.org/ and then on the arrows beneath the map you get a detailed map of his journey with dates. Very interesting!

I don't suppose the food from a garbage dump is any worse than a rotting salmon carcass!

Exciting news!! A story about A46 will be aired tonight (Wed, Dec 13) on the Colbert Report about David sighting A46 in the Vancouver Dump! They will be using the photo David took. If anyone has sighted A46 since David took the picture they would love to hear about it. The producer of this show asked that anytime anyone spots A46 - and takes pictures they would love to be informed.

They are also interested in getting permission to air the photo Take Care posted of the pelican taken by Tony Markle. If anyone knows how to contact him so we can forward permission this would be super too!

Don't miss tonight's show ---

Thanks everyone,
Mary Jane [MJH]

Hi Mary Jane - if you PM TakeCare, I believe she knows how to reach Tony Markle, as she got his permission to post that photo on the forum.

I have sent a pm to Take Care but she hasn't yet picked it up. I am hoping we can help the Colbert people, they have been so nice to us. At least we are trying

MJH