[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                                                              FY 1992 FINAL PRODUCT Task 2.4
                                                                                  Bald Eagle Management Guide for Land
                                                                                             Planners/Owners


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                                         THE BALD EAGLE
                                             in Virginia









                                                                                   





                                    a management guide for landowners



                                              ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
                 THIS PUBLICATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT FROM THE VIRGINIA
               DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY THROUGH FUNDING PROVIDED BY
                THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA). TEXT
              WAS PREPARED BY BRYAN WATTS, MITCHELL BYRD, AND KEITH CLINE. ART AND
                                         DESIGN BY MARIAN URBI WATTS.




                 
                                   This publication was funded, in part, by the Department of Environmental
                            Quality's Coastal Resources Management Program through Grant #NA270ZO312 -
                            01 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and
                            Coastal Resource Management, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972,
                            as amended. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not
                            necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies.


              Cover: Sunset on James River; photo by William S. Portlock
              Cover Inset: Adult bald eagle; photo by Linda Richardson
              Above. Eagle sunrise on Rappahannock River, photo by William S. Portlock
 








                                                                         Although the bald eagle
                                                                 population has rebounded
                                                                 very well over the past 15
                                                                 20 years, current patterns
                                                                 of habitat loss threaten to
                                                                 halt prematurely or even
                                                                 to reverse this recovery.
                                                                 Shoreline development
                      INTWDUCTION                                throughout coastal Virgin-
                                                                 ia is rapidly reducing both
                                                                 occupied and potential
                                                                 breeding habitat and with-
                      ff istorically, bald eagles                out question poses the
                                                       jor       single greatest threat to
                  were plentiful along ma
                  river systems and coastal                      the population. Bald ea-
                  areas throughout eastern                       gles in Virginia will survive
                  Virginia.         Here they fed                and reach sustainable
                  from the bountiful shal-                       numbers only if there is
                  lows of a vast tidal system                    adequate habitat where
                  and prospered. However,                        they may nest, roost and
                  habitat loss associated                        forage, free from human
                  with human settlement,                         disturbance.                                  -71W
                  and later the use of persis-                           Bald eagles possess                    _*ti4
                  tent pesticides (such as                       value beyond their role as
                  DDT) for crop manage-                          consumers in a complex
                  ment, resulted in a dram-                      ecosystem. Over the past
                  atic decline in the popul-                     200 years, as the United
                  ation. By the late 1960's                      States symbol, the bald
                  most breeding populations                      eagle has embodied the
                                                                                                                                       ZX
                  had been decimated by                          ideal of freedom. Over this
                  eggshell thinning and as-                      time, no other species has
                  sociated low productivity.                     become more interwoven
                          Concern for these pop-                 in the fabric of American                         7he bald eagle is one of the largest
                  ulations prompted the ele-                     life. This booklet is pro-                    birds ofprey in North America with a
                  vation of the bald ea le to                    vided as a means to inform                    wingspan of 6-8 feet. Named for its
                                                  9                                                            distinctive plumage, the adult bird is
                  endangered status and led                      the general public of prob-                   unmistakable with a dark brown
                  to a national effort to re-                    lems currently faced by                       body that contrasts strikingly with its
                                                                                                               white head, neck and tail. However,
                  store historic populations.                    bald eagles in Virginia,                      the white plumage is not acquired
                  Since the nationwide ban                       and to emphasize ways in                      until reaching breeding age (4-5
                  on most persistent pest-                       which landowners may                          years). Immature birds are brown
                                                                                                               throughout with white blotches under
                  icides, many populations                       help.                                         the bodyfeathers and wings. Birds
                  have experienced gradual                                                                     with immature plumage arefrequent-
                  recoveries in both product-                                                                  ly mistaken for vultures but fly with
                  ivity and total numbers.                                                                     their wings stretched flat, not tilted
                                                                                                               upward as in the turkey vulture.
                  In Virginia, the breeding
                  population has steadily in-                                                                  L--ft Pair of eagles perched near nest
                                                                                                               st e- photo by Bryan Watts.
                  creased from an estimated
                                                                                                                             adul
                                                                                                     4F,,       op: Eagle in      tplumage; p
                                                                                                               T                               hoto by
                  low of approximatel                  32
                                                  y
                                                                                                               Tim Wright
                                                                                                                       Eagle in immature p            e-
                  pairs in the late 1960 s to                                                                  Above.                         lumag
                                                                                                               photo by William S. Clark.
                  151 pairs in 1993.
                                                                                                                                                   s @t









                                                                          Because eagles build
                                                                  large    nests, they require
                                                                  large,   old trees for struc
                                       ----------
                                                                  tural   support. Trees sel-
                                                                  ected    for nesting are gen-
                                                                  erally the largest trees in a
                                                                  woodlot, often towering
                                                                  above the surroundings.
                                                                  This allows the adult birds
                                                                  easy access to the nest, as
                                                                  well as an unobstructed
                               ald eagles nest adj a-             view of the surrounding
                     cent to or in the vicinity of                landscape. In Virginia, old
                     large bodies of water,                       loblolly pines are the most
                     typically in remote areas                    frequently used trees for
                     with undeveloped shore-                      nesting followed by other
                                                                                                                              %*A
                     lines. On the coastal plain                  pine and deciduous spec-
                     of Virginia, eagles are                      ies.
                     known to nest along the                      Breeding Activi
                     ocean, reservoirs, and in-                          In the mid-Atlantic re-
                                                                                                                                              N'.
                     land bays, but the majority                  gion, adult eagles typically
                     nest along the shoreline of                  remain on or near their
                     the Chesapeake Bay and                       breeding territories year
                     its four major tributaries                   round. Nest building and                    Mckwisefi-om above
                     (Potomac, Rappahannock,                      repair begins in November                   Two young eaglets took outfrom their
                                                                                                              nest over an unbrokenforest canopy;
                     York, and James rivers).                     and peaks in mid-winter                     photo by Craig Koppie.
                             Bald eagles build very               but may be observed dur-                    Two, 2-week old eaglets in nest (note
                     large, often conspicuous                     ing any month of the year.                  nest cup and plant lining), photo by
                                                                                                              Craig Koppie.
                     nests.      The body of the                  Courtship flights and re-                   Two 4-Lveek old young; photo by
                     nest is built of large sticks,               lated behavior are most                     Keith Cline.
                     but the top surface is cov-             -    frequently observed Jan-                    Young eagle near fledging from nest@
                                                                                                              photo by Keith Cline.
                     ered with softer plant mat-                  uary-February and eggs
                     erials such as pine bows,                    are laid between mid-Jan-
                     fresh leaves, and clumps                     uary and late March. Most
                     of grass. When a nest is                     eggs hatch between early
                     first built it typically                     March and early May and
                     measures three to five feet                  eaglets remain in the nest
                     in diameter.             Over the
                     years, nests are gradually                                                              A
                     enlarged, and may reach
                     up to 10 feet in diameter
                     and 15 feet in depth. Al-                A
                     though it is not uncom-
                     mon for breeding pairs to                                                                                                                 4L
                                                                                                                            -A
                     build new nests from time
                     to time (a breeding ter-
                     ritory may contain two to
                     several nests), some nests                                      Typical situationfor bald eagle nest. Nests are usually located in large, promin
                     have been known to be in                               with goodflight access on all sides. The nest is positioned in the uppermost ftVle-lin
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                     use for over 25 years.                                 so that a canopy forms over the nest to shade the birds and their young from the st
                                                                            trees arefrequently near dead snags or other prominent trees that are usedfor percl









                                                          courting, building nests,                      It should be noted that
                                                          laying eggs, or incubating              the guidelines above are
                                                          are most likely to result in            only general          rules       of
                                                          nest failure. In general, no            thumb. Each nesting sit-
                                                          human activities should be              uation is unique and a
                                                          permitted within approx-                number of factors such as
                                                          imately 250 meters of the               topography, surrounding
                                                          nest tree (area around the              vegetation, etc. should be
                                                          nest where eagles are most              taken into account when
                  8
                                                          sensitive) between Nov-                 developing guidelines. Al-
                                                          ember 15 and July 15.                   ways consult with the Vir-
                                                          Outside the breeding sea-               ginia Department of Game
                                                          son, some activity is ac-               and Inland Fisheries or the
                                                          ceptable but should be                  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
                                                          kept to a minimum. Land-                vice for recommendations
                                                          use changes such as tim-                for a specific nest site.
                                                          ber cutting, and the con-
                                                          struction of new buildings
                                                          and roadways should be
                                                          restricted within 400 met-
                                                          ers of the nest during the
                                                          breeding     season.        Major
                                                          land changes such as the
                                                          development of commercial
                                                          and industrial sites should
                                                          be discouraged within this
                                                          distance. Timber manage-
                                                          ment should be consistent
                                                          with     maintaining          good      Above: Leaving  a tree buffer when
                                                          nesting habitat and should              harvesting timberprovides important
                  for 11   to 12   weeks. Most            be conducted during the                 nesting habitat; photo by Bryan
                  young are capable of sus-               non-breeding season.                    watts.
                  tained flight by late July
                  but remain dependent on
                  the parents and in the                                   &fl&Nvi@r to DWImilvacc
                  general vicinity ofthe nest
                  for several more weeks.
                  After this time, young may                                       NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT
                                                                                      T_
                  wander throughout the                   NEST BUILDING
                  Chesapeake Bay and be-
                  yond.                                   INCUBATION
                                                          SMALL YOUNG (1-4 WKS. OLD)
                  Nest Site Management                    OLDERYOUNG (5-12WKS.OLD)

                                                          YOUNG AND ADULTS IN AREA
                       Breeding eagles are most
                  sensitive to human distur-
            524,






















                  bance when they are in the                                               VERY SENSITIVE TO DISTURBANCE,
 trees            early stages of nesting.                                                 MODERATELY SENSITIVE TO DISTURBANCE.
-rotch                                                                                     LEAST SENSITIVE TO DISTURBANCE.
 Nest             Disruptive activities that
                  occur when pairs are









                                                 Because eagles congregate        vide protection from the
                                                 to exploit an abundant           weather and disturbance.
                                                 f
                                                   0
                                                 o d source, care should          Trees used for roosting are
                                                 be taken to protect prey         similar in structure to
                                                 populations from environ-        those used for nesting.
                                                 mental contaminants. Re-         Large trees with open
                                                 lease of harmful pollutants      canopies are preferred be-
                                                 into the food chain in Vir-      cause they allow birds
                 QOO(STING                       ginia could be detrimental       dire 'ct access to limbs for
                                                 to breeding populations          perching. Most roost sites
                                                 along the entire Atlantic        are situated in clumps of
                      n addition to the res-     Coast.                           large trees situated in
              ident breeding population,              Bald eagles within con-     isolated woodlots with easy
              Virginia supports several          centration areas congre-         access to primary foraging
              known areas where sub-             gate in communal roosts          areas.
              adult and non-breeding             at night. These roosts pro-           Eagles within communal
              adults congregate. These                                            roosts are sensitive to hu-
               concentration" areas may                                           man activity. Areas known
              form during the summer
                                                                                  to be used by bald eagles
                                                                       MW
                                                                                  for roosts should be pro
              or winter months and are
              always associated with an
                                                                                  tected from human distur
              abundant food source (typ-                                          bance and significant
              ically a large fish popula-                                         changes in landuse. All
              tion in summer and water-                                           land within 250 meters of
              fowl concentrations in the                                          known roost areas should
              winter).                                                            be closed to timber cut-
                    In Virginia, summer                                           ting, land clearing, and
              concentrations tend to be
              much larger than winter.
              Although eagles from the
              Virginia population ac-
              count for a portion of
              these birds, it appears that
              many come from outside
              the state. Increasing evi-
              dence suggests that birds          Ll@
              from both the south-
              eastern and northeastern
              states converge on these
                                                                               0 A A41

              sites in Virginia during
              mid-summer.
                    Eagle concentration ar-
              eas are rare in Virginia.
              Protection and manage-
              ment of these areas may            Top: Adult eagle on typical perch tree construction to maintain
              be more important to the           usedforforaging and roosting. Note the large trees needed for
              continued recovery of the          that open crown allows easy access perching and a buffer of
                                                 to limbs; photo by Bryon Watts.
              population in Virginia and         Above. Eagle concentration area on trees between the eagles
              throughout the East Coast          the Rappahannock River, photo by and the sight of human
              than any other habitat.            William S. Pordock.              activities.









                                                   eagles shift their foraging         shallow water.
                                                   attention to waterfowl and               Eagles hunt from perch
                                                   supplement their diet to a          trees at any time during
                                                   greater extent with car             the daylight hours and
                                                   rion.                               may be flushed from their
                                                         Eagles spend most of          perch if disturbed. Boat-
                                                   their foraging time survey-         ing activity close to the
                    POD                            ing the landscape for prey          shoreline is particularly
                            AGING                  from a prominent perch              disruptive to feeding birds.
                                                   along the shoreline of              Human activity on the
                                                   rivers, marshes, and bays.          shoreline or adjacent up-
                   D ald eagles are oppor-         Trees used as foraging              lands is equally disruptive.
                tunistic foragers, preying         perches are very similar to         Repeated disturbance may
                on fish, birds, and small          those used for nesting.             cause foraging birds to
                mammals, as well as scav-          Perch trees are large with          abandon otherwise pro-
                enging carrion of various          open crowns to allow un-            ductive foraging sites.
                types.    In the summer,           obstructed flight access to         Development of waterfront
                when availability is high,         limbs. Both pine and de-            property may also result in
                fish are the primary com-          ciduous trees (live or dead)        the permanent loss of
                ponent of the diet. Eagles         may be used for foraging            foraging areas.      Loss of
                in Virginia feed on shad,          perches. Large trees on             prominent shoreline sites,
                catfish, carp, menhaden,           high bluffs appear to be            particularly within con-
                perch and eels depending           preferred. Because eagles           centration areas, may have
                on their seasonal availabil-       often take fish on or near          far reaching impacts on
                ity. in the fall and winter,       the    surface,       favorite      the long-term recovery of
                when the number of water-          perches are typically along         the population.
                fowl increases in the Bay,         shorelines adjacent to

                                             Bald Eaglo Re@gulatiom and Coftta:cts

                         In 1940, congress passed the bald Eagle Protection Act to protect declining eagle
                 populations The current form of the act as well as Virginia state law prohibits the "ta-king"
                 of any bald eagle, Taking under the Act is defined as "to pursue. shoot, shoot at, poison,
                 wound, kill. capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb." Violation of the Eagle Protection Act
                 can result in fines up to $100,000. imprisonment for I year, or both, The bald eagle is also
                 protected under The Endangered Species Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, both with
                 restrictions and penalties similar to the Eagle Protection Act, It is Unportant to note that a
                 change in status from endangered to threatened will have no effect on their legal protection.

                         The Commonwealth of Virginia also has laws designed to protect bald eagles. The
                 Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VOGM has legal jurisdiction over
                 issues relating to bald eagle protection The VDGIF through its crivirotirriental services
                 section vnil review proposed projects from both regional and local governments, as well as
                 private individuals to identify possible impacts Such reviews are encouraged and usually
                 result in a considerable savings in time and money to the landowner. The two agencies
                 below are the lead agencies for endangered species reviews and recommendations in
                 Virginia

                 Wginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries                 US. Fish and Wildlife Service
                 P 0. Box 11104                                                 P 0. Box 480
                 Mehmond, Virginia 23230-1104                                   White Marsh. Virginia 23183
                 (804) 367-1000                                                 1804) 693-6694





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