Last updated: November 8, 2023
Article
Summer movements of female Golden Eagle 1502 at the northwestern edge of North America.
![Steve Lewis and 1502 USFWS Biologist Steve Lewis Golden Eagle holds 1502 after capture 24 March 2015.](/articles/images/GOEA-1502-capture-v2.jpg?maxwidth=1300&autorotate=false)
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To develop and implement effective and efficient conservation and management plans for migratory birds, we need to know how, where, and when they travel and how conditions across their range affect their ability to survive and to produce young. Currently, we are collaborating with US Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Conservation Science Global, Inc., to quantify the year-round movements of Alaska’s migratory golden eagles. As part of that study, we captured Golden Eagle 1502 on 24 March 2015 near Big Grayling Lake on the southern slopes of the Mentasta Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve and attached a 45-g satellite solar powered telemetry unit to her using a lightweight and durable harness. Based on her plumage, we estimated her age at 2 years. Since then we’ve monitored her movements remotely via the satellite telemetry unit that provides us with her location every hour, daily from about 0700 to 1900 throughout the year. Because the telemetry unit batteries are charged via solar power, we do not obtain much data from her between November and late February because she most likely remains in Alaska for the winter.
![Golden Eagle 1502 overview movements Map of Golden Eagle 1502 locations moving westward from Mentasta Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias NPP across interior Alaska to the Seward Peninsula from 24 March to 1 June 2015.](/articles/images/1502-overview-map_1.png)
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![Locations of Golden Eagle Female 1502 during Summer 2015 Map of Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2015. One arrow labeled 7 May 2015 indicates the eagle’s arrival to the general area. Another arrow labeled 13 October 2015 indicates the eagle’s departure from the gen](/articles/images/Slide2_7.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
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![Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2016. Map of Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2016. One arrow labeled 9 May 2016 indicates the eagle’s arrival to the general area.](/articles/images/Slide3_6.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
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![Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2016. Map of Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2016. One arrow labeled 9 May 2016 indicates the eagle’s arrival to the general area.](/articles/images/Slide4_5.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
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![Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2018 Map of Golden Eagle 1502 locations on the Seward Peninsula from 1 April to 31 October 2018. One arrow labeled 7 April 2018 indicates the eagle’s arrival to the general area.](/articles/images/Slide5_3.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
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Every telemetered eagle tells an important, and unique, story. Our telemetry studies continue to provide new information on the movements of non-territorial Golden Eagles in Alaska during the breeding season, expanding our understanding of the ecology of this species. This information should be useful for developing effective management and conservation strategies for this species in Alaska.
Please contact Carol McIntyre (e-mail us) if you have any questions about this eagle or our ongoing collaborative studies of eagle movements.
Learn more about our long-running ecological study of migratory Golden Eagles.