MontanaNatureMama: A Day With The Goldens

I had the opportunity to get back into the field and help out with migrating golden eagle research. I invited my little brother Jake along. His love for the woods and for wildlife is clear and I knew he would appreciate the work, have a great time and maybe be inspired to follow his love of wildlife into research! We were lucky to spend a crisp fall morning with a great team of biologists and bird enthusiasts under a bright blue, clear, Montana sky. I love this work so much. Rob the founder and lead biologist of RaptorView Research Institute is so great to work with. For years he has talked about getting me out to help with the eagles. It finally happened! I have worked with Rob banding Swainson and Osprey chicks in the past. I always have a great time, learn a lot and feel like my time, experience and knowledge is appreciated.

Released.

After a vigorously steep two mile hike onto a saddle overlooking the Sawtooth wilderness we set free the spring-loaded bow nets from the frozen ground and gently tethered the bait. The sky was clear and the wind was just right to bring the migrating eagles over our research station. As the air heated up Rob predicted the thermals would be perfect about 11 a.m., by then we should have our first eagle. We all hunkered into camouflaged blinds and had our eyes peeled to the sky, waiting for the dark brown spot to appear in the binoc lens. No lie, right at 11 a.m. an eagle was spotted and she was flying our way. Once the eagle was spotted, still unseen by the naked eye, we sat motionless and watched as she began her hunt on our tethered pigeon. Her first attention was paid to the decoy owl set up to bring the eagle closer. The eagle was trying to decide if the owl was a threat she had to deal with. Once she locked on to her prey it was seconds before she tucked and landed, talons fully extended. She was anticipating her target to try and flee. Because of this anticipation she over-shot her first attempt. Before she could re-position and re-attack, the thin, light-weight net was triggered and before I could really focus Rob was running out of the blind and had the eagle out of the net and in his arms. It was intense and so, so beautiful. I loved watching Jake get so excited over the whole process. He was amazed by the eagle's power, beauty and strength. I knew Rob would allow Jake to be apart of the process. After we captured the eagle we took her into the processing tent and Jake was the one to hold the eagle while Rob collected his data. Rob explained to us exactly what he was doing and why. Jake asked some very intelligent questions and was so eager to learn. I loved it. We leg-banded the eagle, took leg, wing, beak and talon measurements, tagged her wings with large ID tags (able to visibly identify her by these tags without re-capture), took a sample of blood for DNA and lead testing and took pictures of her wing and tail plumage. Why do I absolutely love working with Rob? He cares so much for the animals he studies. He goes above and beyond to ensure their safety. He puts as little stress on the animals as possible and he only keeps holds them long enough to gather his data. Before we released her Rob treated a natural hunting wound we found under her foot with antiseptic cream and gave her a full crop of deer tenderloin. The eagle expends so much energy attempting to hunt the bait and with the added stress of the capture and migration, a full belly gives her back the calories she burned.