Eagle eyes wanted By Anne Adams • Staff Writer
MONTEREY - What began as a grass-roots effort to spot bald and golden eagles in Bath and Highland has evolved into nearly a full-time effort for two Highland women and the network of birdwatchers they've created.
Patti Reum of Hightown and Sandy Hevener of Blue Grass began more than a year ago enlisting the help of residents, visitors, and professional birdwatchers to track sightings of the majestic raptors in these mountains, and then creating a database for research.
They connected with various birding organizations to learn more about eagles, and set about asking citizens to report whenever one of the birds was seen. In their second year of collecting data, the self-described "old ladies who love to watch birds" have now tallied 1,100 eagle sightings in 15 months.
Last month, Hevener bought a common hunters' scouting camera and set it up in an area of the Royal family farm along Hardscrabble Road (Route 644) in the Blue Grass Valley. The camera is designed to snap shots when an infrared motion detector is triggered.
Within a short time, it captured a bald eagle feasting on a carcass in vivid color.
The Royal family, who has owned their property since the early 1970s, have always called the area behind their farm house "The Rookery."
"Well now we know why," Hevener laughed.
Hevener plans to use the camera in other places to photograph the birds, but "we can't just set it up anywhere," she said. "That's why it's important for people to tell us where they see them.
"We first set up the camera on the east side of Snowy Mountain, but when we kept checking, nothing had disturbed the carcasses," Hevener added. "Then we moved it to the west side, on Lantz Mountain, at the Royal farm, and we got immediate results."
Their research so far indicates eagles are here, and some are living in Highland year-round.
"Based on continuing reports of pairs in particular areas during the nesting season, I believe we have at least seven breeding pairs of bald eagles in Highland County," Hevener said. "This includes the two known nests. We receive fewer reports of bald eagles in the winter than summer, and the birds are spread out more in the winter."
"It's important to understand there are so many variables as to when the eagles are seen," Reum added. For most amateur birders, spotting a juvenile eagle can be hard. The full-grown adults are easier to recognize, especially the white heads of bald eagles. In addition, summertime usually makes it a little more difficult when the leaves are on trees. "There may be far more birds we're not seeing," she said.
As the calls come in, "We continue to get reports of golden eagles, both adults and immature, in Highland County every month of the year," Hevener said. "There is no reason for an adult bird to be here during the breeding season if it is not breeding here. We get many more reports of golden eagles in the winter than summer and because people report them in the air, it is difficult to identify breeding pairs. People generally report bald eagles perched over rivers and this makes it easier to identify pairs."
There is also a push to spot the feathers of golden eagles which can then be documented by the National Aviary staff in Pittsburgh, Pa. - America's only independent non-profit bird zoo. "We had a deer carcass just off the road near us and I kept returning to it to see whether I could find feathers," Reum said. "The aviary has biologists that can look at the DNA in the feathers and determine how closely related eagles here are to other populations."
"Someone listed on the National Aviary feather permit will arrange to transport any golden eagle feathers found," Hevener said. "It is illegal for people not listed on a permit to possess an eagle feather. If someone stumbles over a fresh golden eagle feather, they can call Patti or me and we will facilitate it."
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Acts of 1940 and 1962 prohibit the take, transport, sale, barter, trade, import, export and possession of eagles, eagle parts and feathers. Only officials, such as those at the National Aviary and state wildlife personnel with Fish and Wildlife Administration permits can collect feathers for research. These officials can add names to their list for collection purposes. In this case, feathers are used in genetic analysis of individual eagles. It is illegal to collect feathers without such permits.
Hevener and Reum stress the need for interested citizens to continue to report eagle sightings. Those who spot one should note the date, time of day, what kind of species it was, the age if they can determine it, the length of time it was seen, and what the bird was doing at the time.
The raptors' actions are also important to describe, they said. "We want to know whether the bird was perched or flying, and if it was flying, which direction was it going? Was it carrying anything? All that is good to know," Reum said. "The more details, the better."
As a result of their work, Hevener and Reum have been warmly welcomed by professional ornithologists and biologists they've contacted. Their work has been treated with great respect, and one of the important things they've accomplished is communication across state lines. They met with state biologists in West Virginia in January to drive home their beliefs that the whole area here and across the state line into West Virginia, is an important study region. They managed to elicit interest in particular when they discussed trying to find a golden eagle nest.
Golden eagle nests have not been spotted East of the Mississippi in about 50 years, but the species is not considered endangered or threatened because there is a large population out West. But in the East, the use of pesticides like DDT took its toll years ago on bald and golden eagles, and peregrine falcons - their egg shells became thinner and the populations declined dramatically. Bald eagles have been making a come-back over the years, and the federal government is considering de-listing them as endangered species. "But they aren't delisted yet," Reum notes.
Another problem is that eagles are not highly reproductive species, Hevener explains. "They have to survive five years before they can breed," she says. Most lay 2-3 eggs a year, and if there's not enough food, maybe only one of the fledglings survives. Once they're full grown, she said, they can live up to 30 years in the wild.
Upcoming eagle-watcher events
Reum and Hevener have two projects in the works at the moment.
One is a "Golden Eagle Nest Scouting Day" slated for Saturday, April 21 in Highland County, as a result of conversations with West Virginia experts.
They plan to have 2-3 groups of birdwatchers park themselves in areas around Lantz and Snowy mountains at the northern end of the Blue Grass Valley and simply spend the day watching the skies for golden eagles. The goal is to locate a nest.
If enough people participate, scouting may be expanded into the Devil's Backbone near High Valley.
Spotters must bring their own equipment, like good digital scoping cameras, and be confident they can identify the eagles.
Reum stresses the significance of locating a golden eagle nest - if one is found, it would be a real coup for Highland County, she said. It may mean the species is expanding into the East Coast, or that West Coast golden eagles are being forced to move eastward. Either way, finding a nest would create a new-found interest among the birding community.
The second event is called the "Golden Chase," a project scheduled for the weekend of May 19 in Bath and Highland counties, as a "bird-a-thon" of sorts.
Teams of expert birdwatchers spend a solid 24 hours looking, and making notes, about any bird species they see. It's a competitive event, and birders get one point for every species; 10 points for spotting a golden eagle. The birders will have sponsors to pay for each bird sighted, and the money raised benefits the National Aviary Telemetry Project.
The telemetry project collects information on where and how the unique Eastern population of golden eagles migrates through the Appalachian Mountains, the National Aviary says, and the information will be used to create regional maps showing the relative risk to eagles from the increasing development of wind energy utilities. "We expect that these maps will provide a crucial tool for managers and elected officials to guide safer development of wind power throughout the region," the aviary explains.
The telemetry project helps pay for the expensive process of capturing eagles, equipping them with mini-backpacks that carry a radio transmitter, and then tracking their movements via satellite. "It can cost as much as $30,000 just to capture a bird," Hevener said.
So far, there are three groups already registered to participate from Roanoke, Northern Virginia, and Staunton.
Expanding interest
Initially, Reum and Hevener started their eagle-watching project in reaction to the proposed wind energy utility here on Allegheny Mountain. Experts for the developer had said there were no significant numbers of eagles in the area that could be harmed by the 400-foot towers and their spinning blades. Both women had lived in the Highlands long enough to know that wasn't true, but they didn't have any statistics other than anecdotal evidence and personal experience.
"But this is not even about the wind project anymore," Reum said this week. "It's taken on a whole new life of its own, and what we're finding has serious implications of biological significance."
Reum is well-qualified to know. She has a B.SC in zoology from the University of Manitoba, and a master's in environmental education. In recent years, Reum served as a high school science teacher, but prior to becoming an educator, she worked as a field technician on caribou, for the Canadian Wildlife Service, and did field work and an environmental impact statement for a proposed nuclear power project. She also worked for the Maryland Environmental Trust and the Maryland Highway Department as a biologist.
Recreationally, Reum has been watching birds for more than 20 years. That's what originally attracted her to Highland County, she said. "I am so happy to be doing this," she beams. "This is what I wanted to do all my life. I've always dreamt of doing it. I love this."
Hevener, for her part, has lived for decades in the Blue Grass Valley as freelance photographer and writer, sheep farmer, and local magistrate. She has a deep passion for wildlife, and for Highland County.
The women have no immediate plans to create a formal organization for their research, but the project continues to expand.
Recently, a web site was created to pull all their resource material and contact information into one place:
mysite.verizon.net/vze7diu3.
The site explains who they are and contains information on the Virginia Society of Ornithology, which serves as their non-profit "banker" to collect tax-deductible donations. Already, major contributions have been made including $1,000 from Highlanders for Responsible Development; $500 from the Bath Highland Bird Club; and $250 from an anonymous private donor.
"Going into the future, we're getting even more serious," Reum said. "I feel very proud that we've taken something we saw happening, contacted everyone we knew, and started to fix it. "We've had a lot of loyal (bird) ââ¬Ëreporters,' and very strong backing in this community … We really appreciate the financial support. This could put Highland County on the map nationally."
Sightings have expanded well into Bath County, Hevener added, noting one report from there about a courtship display.
One thing Reum could use? "A decent spotting scope," she says. "But they can run $1,000-$2,000."
| 
