Where Was He? 2016 Tracking Archives for Saltville Golden Eagle

2016

November 28: It’s been a little less than 24 hours since the Saltville Golden Eagle (formerly known as patient #16-1934) was successfully released at Big Walker Lookout – and he hasn’t flown too far! The first GPS transmission since release was catalogued at precisely 11:35 am, and shows the total distance traveled as approximately one-fifth of a mile. In the coming weeks, closely following Saltville Golden Eagle will hopefully provide further details on his status in the wild.

December 2: The Saltville Golden Eagle released last week has traveled a moderate distance since checking in last – a good sign that the eagle is in good physical condition, and that it may be actively hunting on a regular basis. Flying in a westerly direction, the bird covered a little more than five miles from its previous location on November 28. Roughly six miles south of the rural town of Bland, Virginia, the eagle’s most recent position appears to be in a thickly wooded area adjacent to a large agricultural field.

December 6: It’s been a busy weekend for Saltville Golden Eagle! GPS tracking shows that the bird has been very active during the past four days, but has remained just a few miles away from the site of his release. Displaying similar movement patterns to a number of Bald Eagles the Wildlife Center is tracking, Saltville Golden Eagle seems to prefer spending time on the edges of forested areas that are bordered by large open fields. It’s possible that these areas provide a more suitable hunting ground for the eagle due to his size. While this bird is still a juvenile, adult Golden Eagles may have a wingspan of up to seven and a half feet long – which can make maneuvering through dense forests much more difficult, in comparison.

December 9: Continuing to show a large amount of movement each day, Saltville Golden Eagle doesn’t seem to stay in one location for very long. On December 8 the eagle left the patch of forest close to where he was initially released and began to fly in a north-westerly direction, following the natural corridor formed by ridges and valleys in the area.

December 13: It’s been another active weekend for Saltville Golden Eagle, during which he’s shown the greatest distances traveled since being released. Beginning near the town of Bland, the eagle flew about 55 miles southward toward the Virginia and North Carolina state line. After gradually turning north again, he covered about 32 miles over the mountainous terrain that characterizes southwest Virginia. The eagle’s most recent transmission places him in a wide valley near the town of Wythe.

December 16: During the past week, Saltville Golden Eagle has continued to show varied and active movement patterns. The eagle can be seen tracing many of the contours formed by alternating ridges and valleys throughout the area. Spending much more time near urbanized areas – and even flying over Interstate 81 -- he remained within a seven-mile radius of the Fort Chiswell, Virginia area.

December 20: Having travelled about three miles northwest from the Fort Chiswell area, Saltville Golden Eagle has moved into a more rural area compared to his last update. Following the broad arc of a shallow creek for approximately one mile, the eagle has spent the past four days on the northern slope of a thickly forested ridgeline. The region’s mountainous terrain likely creates a large number of tributaries and drainage areas affected by seasonal rainfall and snowmelt.

December 28: Though Saltville Golden Eagle has shown a large amount of movement during the last week, he has remained in the same general area northwest of Fort Chiswell, VA. On average, this bird has flown about five miles per day yet remains within an area a little less than two miles in diameter.

2017

January 6: During the first week of 2017, Saltville Golden Eagle has been busy! On average, the eagle has flown about 14 miles each day while moving between the undeveloped mountains and ridgelines near Max Meadows, Virginia. Its flight paths can be clearly seen following established roadways and boarders of agricultural fields.

January 13: Saltville Golden Eagle seems to have found very suitable habitat near Max Meadows in southwest Virginia. The eagle has remained on the outskirts of the town’s urbanized areas for the past month, where available prey likely includes species such as raccoons, opossums, and small rodents commonly drawn to human activity. This past week, he flew approximately five miles south from what appears to be a poultry farm before returning to his most recent position.

January 20: During the past week, Saltville Golden Eagle spent most of his time moving throughout the familiar valley just north of Max Meadows, Virginia. Despite showing a large amount of movement on a daily basis, the eagle remains in an area measuring about three miles in diameter. On January 19 he flew roughly one mile north toward Brushy Ridge, the highest point of elevation in the region at 2,730 feet above sea level, before returning to his last-known location.

February 6: Saltville Golden Eagle has been a busy bird during the few weeks since his last update. As expected, he spent a majority of this time in the valley just north of Max Meadows, Virginia. On February 4, though, he began to fly east. Passing through the towns of Draper and Hiwassee, Saltville Golden Eagle has flown a total of approximately 25 miles during the last two days. His last known position places him in a thickly forested, undeveloped area.

February 14: In just eight days, Saltville Golden Eagle has flown about 42 miles! Starting near the winding New River, he initially flew westward over several ridgelines until reaching Max Meadows – a site this young Golden Eagle commonly visits. After navigating the valley in a clockwise direction, he began to fly south. After reaching an unnamed summit on the Poplar Camp Mountain ridgeline, he turned to the west for just about two miles before doubling-back and arriving at his last-known location. Most recently, the eagle’s GPS tracker places him less than one mile from the Sylvatus Quarry.   

February 21: It’s been another week filled with a surprising amount of movement from Saltville Golden Eagle – he’s traveled more than 120 miles during the last seven days. Moving in a counterclockwise direction, he flew in a loosely circular pattern that started and ended near the same stretch of the New River near Carter Island.

March 1: Unseasonably warm weather may be a factor in Saltville Golden Eagle’s long-distance flights during the past few weeks. This past week, the eagle’s first GPS tracking location was recorded near Griffith Knob in Wytheville, Virginia – less than two miles away from his initial release site at Big Walker Lookout! He flew southwest for about 35 miles until reaching Saltville, the town of his namesake, before turning northward and following the same ridgeline for almost 65 miles. His last-known position is a small valley just north of Brushy Mountain.

March 14: Saltville Golden Eagle’s GPS tracking unit has continued to place him near the Max Meadows, Virginia area during the past few weeks. Starting directly above Brushy Mountain, he flew southwest along the area’s highest ridgelines for about 25 miles before returning on a similar route. After a brief visit to Carter Island on the New River, he returned to the valley where he’s been observed several times throughout the past month.

March 28: Starting in southern Pulaski County earlier this past week, Saltville Golden Eagle flew about 20 miles west to the Max Meadows area. After spending a few days in his familiar territory, the juvenile Golden Eagle can be seen moving southward to his most-recently known location near the town of Ivanhoe.

May 3: Although Saltville Golden Eagle's GPS tracker hasn’t sent any new transmissions in 44 days, we can see that the solar-powered battery is holding an adequate charge to store the data that's been collected during this time. The eagles we track occasionally move into areas with poor satellite reception, preventing their GPS units from communicating with the servers on a daily basis. We’ll keep a close eye on Saltville Golden Eagle during the coming weeks for updates and new data.