Be on the Lookout for Minnesota Eagle Wearing Radio

First posted on 11-04-2010

A bald eagle from Minnesota, a special bird wearing a radio transmitter, is hanging out in a rugged and remote area of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.

The male bird was set free after rehabilitation for injuries. Trackers are able to keep up with its general location by satellite, but on-the-ground sightings are needed.

Anyone who comes across the eagle is asked to report the sightings to Karen Rowe, bird conservation program coordinator with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, by calling 877-873-4651 or 870-672-2279, or by e-mail at . To see the eagle’s most-recent location, visit http://www.theraptorcenternews.blogspot.com/.

The eagle has been recorded lately in the Ozarks of northern Johnson County and southern Newton County in the vicinity of Haw Creek Falls Recreation Area and Fort Douglas.

“I am satellite tracking a rehabbed bald eagle that was fixed up and released by the University of Minnesota raptor center in January,” said Mark Martell of St. Paul, Minn., director of bird conservation for Audubon Minnesota. “It is an adult male who, until a few weeks ago, spent all of his time in Minnesota or northwestern Wisconsin. Around the beginning of October, he made a beeline to northern Arkansas, where he has remained. He is mostly hanging out in Newton and Johnson counties. Most of his data points seem associated with reservoirs and what appear to be small streams in the Ozarks.”

Adult bald eagles have familiar white heads, large yellow beaks and white tails. The Minnesota eagle has a small transmitter on its back and an antenna that may be visible with binoculars at fairly close range.

Hundreds of bald eagles spend colder months of the year in Arkansas, coming down from northern areas to join year-round resident Arkansas eagles. Most eagles are spotted in the vicinity of water.

Share | |