Subject: Bald Eagles
Date: Jul 3 11:11:56 1999
From: Bud Anderson - bud at frg.org


Hi Tweeters,
I'd like to comment on the recent discussion about de-listing Bald
Eagles. I have to agree with both Don and Eugene on this one.
To put it into perspective, Terry Grubb and I did the first extensive
Bald Eagle nesting survey in Washington in 1975 and we found 100 active
pairs. We essentially covered the entire marine shoreline of western WA
from the air. I have been told by State Department of Fish and Wildlife
people, who have continued this work over the years and deserve our thanks
for it, that there are now in excess of 650 pairs known in our state.
We hear from Martin Muller about all of the Balds in Seattle (Green
Lake, West Seattle, Seward Park, Denny Park, Broadmoor, etc.) and cannot
deny that they are not only doing extremely well in numbers, but are also
adapting to close human proximity. Every nest that succeeds in this type of
situation produces young that are automatically tolerant of people. That is
good news for the eagle.
Also in 1976, there was only one known peregrine nest in WA. Now we have
around 50. We found two more new pairs up here in the San Juan Islands just
this season, bringing our local total to 15 pairs. As we know, they are
moving into cities too (Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Vancouver). Personally,
I can't describe how wonderful this is to those of us who did surveys for
years without even seeing a breeding peregrine. This species is also
scheduled to be de-listed this summer.
The danger in denying that they have recovered is that it is
indefensible. As you can see from the numbers, they have recovered. In the
case of the peregrine, I can say they have recovered in excess of my
expectations. As far as this being grounds for dismantling the ESA, there
are unfortunately too many new candidates for the Act. I don't think
running out of species to worry about is going to happen in our lifetimes.
Finally, I find that there is one important missing element in all of
this de-listing process. As Steve Herman so eloquently reminds us, the real
culprit that caused the massive population crashes of all these raptor
species in the first place was DDT. Get rid of it and the birds come back
on their own. In my mind, it is extremely important to remember this during
all the media stuff, the accompanying publicity and the inevitable
self-congratulations.
The first person who first discovered the DDT egg-shell thinning
relationship was the Englishman, Derek Ratcliffe. To me, the guy deserves
the Nobel Prize.


Falcon Research Group
Box 248
Bow, WA 98232 USA
(360) 757-1911
bud at frg.org