EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and you can find them in Reno County. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks found a group of juvenile birds along the Ninnescah River near Castleton.
Terrestrial Ecologist Zach Eddy said the birds were found on private ground as a part of the KDWP's research study on the ecology of bald eagles. The study began in the Spring of 2021 with 13 birds.
"There are several that are tracked and observed," said Eddy "This particular nest just happened to fit in the correct age range."
The state announced last week that their research on bald eagles will expand for three more years. The research study is being funded by the Chickadee Checkoff. The fund is a public tax donation and can be included on tax forms or as a donation made to the department.
"We actually had some additional research money," Eddy said. "We thought, you know what, if we can expand this contract and expand the research, we can learn a little bit more, we can extend the data collection in time and we may be able to follow some of those initial birds from the time they fledge and leave the nest they are born in until they establish their own nesting territories."
Eddy said the goal is to catch juvenile eagles from their nests because they are easier to study. Over time, they can use these young birds to see if there is any difference in how they use the landscape and air space as they mature through adulthood.
"You've got to catch them when they are mostly feathered but before they are capable of flight so we can access them in the nests," Eddy said. "It's a much more challenging project if the birds are mature enough that they already know how to fly and then you essentially have to use some type of net."
To get the eagles down from their nests, the KDWP and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put them in a small bag to bring them down on a pulley.
The eagles are fitted with a cap to cover their eyes to calm them down. After that, their size measurements and blood samples are taken. Then they get fitted with an ID band and a GPS transmitter backpack and returned back to their nests.
Bald Eagle hatched nestlings have also been located in Barton, Stafford, Kingman, Chase, Morris, Geary and Pottawatomie counties.
"Lots of folks seem to have a soft spot for them so getting land owner access, and participation, and locating eagles in the nest is actually fairly easy to do," Eddy said.
There isn't any conclusive data on the birds yet. Eddy said GPS data analysis from their research partners will probably come back next year. He said the KDWP will use the data to inform the public of conservation activities or impact minimization recommendations for the species moving forward.
"We are really anxious to get a longer term data set and see if some of these birds actually return to their natal ranges to establish new nests here in the next four or six years," Eddy said.
More information about protected species in Kansas is available at ksoutdoors.com. More information on how you can support the research projects is available at chickadeecheckoff.com.
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