The eagle has landed —again!

Many nature lovers in the area will remember the golden eagle release last year at about this time up on Mohawk Mountain. The injured eagle had been found by snowmobilers in Amenia and brought to the Sharon Audubon Center for emergency care. It was subsequently transferred to Tufts University in Massachusetts and nursed back to health. On March 27, 2011, Todd Katzner, Ph.D., from West Virginia University, outfitted the bird with a telemetry unit to track its movements, and the bird was released the next day at an overlook at Mohawk State Forest. The eagle was tracked as it got its bearings and headed north to its breeding grounds in Canada, and then communication was lost. Researchers and Audubon staff and volunteers waited for the next transmission, wondering if something happened to the bird or if it was just because it ended up in a remote region of Canada with no cell towers to receive the transmissions.Then, on Feb. 28, just a few weeks ago, we were alerted by Dr. Katzner that communication had been re-established and a year’s worth of data was sent to his computer servers. We learned that the bird spent the summer on breeding grounds near the border of Quebec and Labrador, and came back down to our exact area to winter again. In fact, data shows that it flew over the Audubon Center the day that communication was re-established. As of March 19, it has started its migration north — most likely to the same breeding grounds as last year.More information about the travels of this eagle will be available in the coming weeks and we are thrilled to learn that this magnificent bird is doing well. Not only do we know more about migration patterns and behavior, but we also reaffirm that rehabilitation efforts can be integral to conservation efforts.The map of the migration can be found online at The Lakeville Journal website, www.tricornernews.com. Scott Heth is the director of Audubon Sharon and can be reached at sheth@audubon.org, (subject line: Nature Notes).

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