A Journey to Churchill to see Polar Bears

Churchill, Manitoba, is a remote town located on the western shore of the Hudson Bay, the southern most limit of where Polar Bears can survive year-around.

Polar Bears are marine mammals that spend most of their time on artic sea ice feeding on their main prey, seals.  The prospect of seeing Polar Bears was my primary reason for traveling to Churchill, but the experience of getting there and the other wildlife we saw held magic, as well.

Christian Artuso and Billie Cantwell, on a very cold and windy day in Riding Mountain National Park, MB.  Winds were blowing at 40 mph and the wind chill was 21 degrees F!  Can you tell who lives in Manitoba?

Our first destination was Winnipeg, MB, where we met our naturalist guide, Christian Artuso, for a side trip to Riding Mountain National Park. Christian is not only an expert ornithologist, he is a wildlife photographer and the coordinator of Manitoba's Breeding Bird Atlas.  He can hear and identify birds from incredible distances, even while driving a vehicle, and makes a "head turning" imitation female moose call!  More about that in a later post.

A glimpse of what parts of the North American prairie looked like at one time, preserved at Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP).  The view directly above and below is within the bison enclosure. We also saw elk running in the distance--a too brief encounter.  They were certainly more skittish than the buffalo.

Fall is rutting season for the hooved mammals and in the bison herd, females (left) and male bison were paired and associating while grazing.

 A female bison and her calf.

 Quaking Aspen framing the sides of the park road.

As we were driving to Wasagaming, the location of our lodging, we spotted a juvenile bald eagle as it was flying in to land in a group of aspen.  Stopping for a better look, we also discovered a golden eagle perched below the juvenile.  This was a spectacular sighting for us all--my first golden eagle sighting in a number of years, and Christian confirmed, a rare sighting for this area.  Of course, seeing two species of eagles in one sighting is a spectacular occurrence anyway!

The habitat surrounding the clump of trees included cultivated fields with harvested crops and clumps of over-grown areas desireable to rodents and rabbits. Prime hunting for golden eagles.

Golden Eagle

The golden eagle took flight first, in a grand sweep across the fields, circling over our heads in such a way that we had great views of its plumage and field marks.  In the image below you can see the golden hackles on the head and neck reflecting in the sunlight.

The characteristic white band in the tail feathers is apparent from this underneath view as the eagle turns.

The young bald eagle, above and below, perched for a longer period and we finally had to say, goodbye.  To have such a lingering look at these two magnificent birds on our first visit to the park filled us with excitement.

We were the last guests for the season at Mooswa Lodge in Wasagaming and were afforded very spacious and comfortable accomodations for two nights while visiting the park.  My lodging had two bedrooms with additonal loft sleeping, kitchen and living area with two sofas--plenty of room for six!

This is my first in a series of posts on my journey to Churchill, Manitoba to see Polar Bears.
Also visit my post on the Gray Jays we encountered in RMNP:  Gray Jays--Smart, Bold, Resourceful!

Christian Artuso's blog
Riding Mountain National Park
Mooswa Resort
Learn about Polar Bears

Bob Hatcher Honored with AEF Bald Eagle Release

Challenger, the famous free-flying Bald Eagle, cared for by the American Eagle Foundation, who has flown free during the singing of the national anthem at many national sports events, paid a visit to a very special person earlier this week--Bob Hatcher.

The name Robert M. Hatcher is practically synonymous with the phrase "Bald Eagle recovery in Tennessee". In the 1960s and '70s, Bald Eagles were on the brink of extinction, with only about 400 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states and no known eagle nests in Tennessee. Since then, strict protection laws, the banning of DDT, and dedicated restoration and recovery efforts have helped restore this majestic species to America's skies. As of January 2014, there are about 143 successful Bald Eagle nests in Tennessee. From these nests, around 250 eaglets fledged in 2013. As of today, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, American Eagle Foundation and other partners have released 358 captive-hatched or translocated eaglets into the wilds of Tennessee.

Betty Hatcher (Bob's wife), Laura Cecere and Challenger at the Bells Bend release.  Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge

The American Eagle Foundation (AEF) in cooperation with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) released a Bald Eagle near the Cumberland River in Nashville on Tuesday, July 15th, 2014 at the Bell's Bend Park. This release honored Bob Hatcher, who initiated Tennessee's Bald Eagle recovery efforts in the early 1980s.

The AEF and TWRA arranged this special eagle release to honor and thank 76-year-old Bob Hatcher for his dedication to helping bring our nation's living symbol, the Bald Eagle, back from the brink of extinction. He served as the Non-Game and Endangered Species Coordinator for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency from 1978 to 2001 and served TWRA for a total of 38 years. 

Above, former TWRA Executive Director, Gary Myers addresses the audience.  Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge

The AEF invitation to the event included the following:  "Since the mid-80s, Hatcher has been a mentor and close friend of Al Cecere, Founder and President of the American Eagle Foundation (Est. in 1985). Hatcher is one of the main reasons the AEF exists, having generously volunteered thousands of hours of time and expertise to the cause.  TWRA Executive Director Ed Carter, AEF President Al Cecere, and Mr. Hatcher's Wife, Daughter, Son, family, and friends will attend the ceremony to recognize and honor this exemplary individual.... The Bald Eagle to be released on Tuesday will be appropriately named "Hatcher's Legacy"....  

"Mr. Hatcher is dearly loved and respected by friends, colleagues, and conservation representatives all over Tennessee and the country. He is the epitome of selflessness, integrity, patience, passion, and humility. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of Bald Eagle and endangered species conservation. He has always been a big promotor of "symbiotic relationships," focusing on what people could achieve by working cooperatively together and sharing the credit. Thus, he has humbly never taken the full credit that his friends and colleagues all know that he so greatly deserves. He is a legacy....Through this release, we hope that the public will truly understand the impact Mr. Hatcher has made not only on endangered and threatened species conservation, but on the thousands of people he has taken the time and patience to individually speak to, teach, and mentor throughout his life. More importantly, however, we hope Mr. Hatcher will truly understand how grateful we all are for his lifelong selfless dedication."  (American Eagle Foundation press release and invitation).

Al Cecere, President and Founder, American Eagle Foundation, Dollywood, Tennessee.  Photo credit: Cyndi Routledge

TWRA Executive Director Ed Carter (above left) announces the establishment of an annual scholarship fund named in honor of Bob Hatcher, to be awarded to a biology student with an concentration in Ornithology. The first scholarship will be awarded in the fall of 2014.  The scholarship will be administered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation.

James Rogers speaks briefly before singing "Fly Eagle Fly".

Above, Al Cecere and family members listen to "Fly Eagle Fly".

More than 150 people attended the event honoring Hatcher and witnessed the eagle release.

Ron Hoff, President of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) (above left) with TOS members Susan Hollyday, Ken Dubke (Chattanooga), and Polly Rooker.

Above, Hatcher's Legacy's palagial tag.

Bob was unable to attend the event due to illness but the ceremony and release were video-taped for his viewing afterward.

Appreciation to Cyndi Routledge for all of the above photographs and to the American Eagle Foundation and TWRA for this public tribute to one of Tennessee's greatest and most beloved conservationists.

Bob Hatcher (third from left) pictured with Ken Dubke (Chattanooga TOS), Joan Garland (International Crane Foundation) and Ed Carter, Executive Director, TWRA, at the 2013 Sandhill Crane festival held at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. Photo credit: Bob Hatcher

Links and Resources:

American Eagle Foundation

American Eagle Foundation facebook --image of Challenger's visit to Bob Hatcher 

Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--bald eagle

Facts about Bald Eagles in Tennessee--Bob Hatcher is the author of this document

Tennessee Ornithological Society

TWRA

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam

We have nesting bald eagles in Tennessee, and one particular nest in southeast TN is very special.  It's visible to anyone who wants to view it 24/7 via a live cam.

The Harrison Bay eagle nest is located at Bear Trace Golf near Harrison Bay State Park on Lake Chickamauga.  With the nest located in a tall pine just 30 feet off #11 green, the nesting eagles can entertain themselves looking down on the golfers as they are putting on this green.

According to Tennessee birder, Harold Sharp, the female, Eloise, laid her second egg yesterday on Valentine's Day!  The first was laid on February 5th and should hatch around March 17.  The twenty-week nesting period lasts until approximately June 25th, providing opportunity for all of us to view the whole process from hatch to fledging via the cam.

The camera is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provides both a side view and an overhead view of the eagle activities.  I just watched the female move some pine straw and turn around, repositioning herself to incubate the eggs.

The cam broadcasters have to make a living, so pause for a 20-second commercial before the live viewing.  It's worth the wait!

Watchable wildlife and technology, a fun combination!

Links and resources:

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam website

Top image taken from the Hiwassee River while on a Blue Moon Cruise in 2009.  A similar cruise is taking place this weekend.  Contact Blue Moon Cruises for reservations.

More bald eagles on this blog.

Bald Eagles at Tennessee Watchable Wildlife

A Striking Subadult Bald Eagle

When a juvenile bald eagle leaves the nest, it is a mostly dark bird with variable amounts of white mottling that is sometimes localized in patches. Its beak and cere (nostril area) are dark brown and its eyes are dark brown. The immature eagle then goes through a series of five annual partial molts as it changes into adult plummage, usually by year five, and becomes the mature bald eagle that we most often recognize with that flashing white head and tail. This beautiful subadult is probably into its third year of age, identified in part by that osprey-like look to his face, his yellowing cere and tawny but not dark beak. This I have on the opinion of a veteran birder observing him with me, only because I asked. And I did ask because I had never had the opportunity to see these facial markings before. Pretty striking, huh?He was resting on a sandbar as we passed the Hiwassee Island on our return trip to the marina. Eagles are known to perch on the ground as well as on limbs and dead knobs.And just before we encountered him, we spotted two more subadults in flight coming from the same area. He is believed to be the third of a group of subadults seen hanging out together over the winter. He sat quietly as we passed, then finally decided to lift off, presumably to join his buddies. Need I say what a gorgeous sight that was? The power in those wings... In all we saw seven bald eagles, two adults and five subadults.

This is the second of a series on my recent Blue Moon cruise on the Tennessee River. Click here to see the first post.

Next: herons displaying at the rookery.

Bald Eagle Spring

How do we know its spring? For many it’s when the snow melts, when we can shed our coats or when the first blooms appear.But this week I've experienced a different view of spring through the activities of several bird species that are deep into pair bonding and nesting here in east Tennessee, in southeastern USA. It was fortuitous that I made the decision yesterday to take a voyage on the Blue Moon, down the Tennessee River, departing from the Sale Creek Marina in Soddy Daisy, TN. Today I awoke to a blanket of fresh snow! But the source of my contentment goes much deeper than weather. It rests with the richness of our natural world and those who have loved it enough to help preserve it.

My gratitude began even before I arrived at the marina. What I witnessed as I drove across the bridge over the Tennessee River on Hwy 30 brought tears to my eyes. With the golden pink of sunrise still glowing on the horizon, more than a thousand sandhill cranes rose in front of me, their bodies waving in long broken V’s, above me and below me, some at nearly eye level, shimmering like mythical winged creatures as they departed their roosts for feeding grounds or more northerly breeding destinations.

The awe of this one moment would have been enough to make my day but there was more to come.
Our 3.5 hour journey on the Blue Moon took us from the Hiwassee River to the Tennessee River, around the grassy Hiwassee Island and through the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge. This is the area where thousands of sandhill cranes and endangered whooping cranes stage and where waterfowl, shore birds and eagles spend their winter months. I expected to see a bald eagle or two on this trip, but I wasn't expecting what I witnessed--a pair of eagles at the nest. Above in the warm sunlight you see one eagle perched on the nest, the other, directly above, is partially concealed by a pine bough. Wintering eagles arrive in Tennessee in late October and their numbers peak by late January to early February. But nesting bald eagles remain in Tennessee year around and are generally incubating by February 10-15. While we watched, the eagle on the upper branch lifted from his perch.There were 14 active nests at Reelfoot Lake in western Tennessee in 1955. But Tennessee had no known successful eagle nests from 1961 until 1983. The hatching of one bald eaglet in 1983 marked the first known successful bald eagle nest in Tennessee in 22 years.Due largely to the banning of the insecticide DDT in the U.S. in 1972 and restoration efforts since 1976, bald eagle nests in the lower 48 states doubled about every 6 years from 1980 to 2001.
I had not seen a bald eagle in the wild until I visited the Hiwassee Wildlife refuge in 1999. It was there that I first encountered thousands of staging sandhill cranes, met organized birders with their scopes set up to bring them closer into view and witnessed my first bald and golden eagles in flight over head with identification help from veteran birders. And to add one more tidbit of history, in the early 60's, greater sandhill cranes were only suspected as migrating through Tennessee but rarely observed.

And so yesterday's journey took me full circle. It's February of 2009, exactly ten years later and I have again witnessed thousands of sandhill cranes and topped it off with a pair of bald eagles at their nest and I can't help but feel immeasurable gratitude.

We humans would be a formidable species indeed, if every individual on the planet joined forces to revere and preserve the beauty and balance of our natural world in the same manner that many championed our bald eagles. World peace and prosperity would surely follow.

Above, our hosts on the Blue Moon cruise. From left, Rick Houlk, one of the owners and cruise naturalist; yours truely; Will Ross, crew member; Dave Anderson, captain and interpreter.

Coming up: More highlights from the cruise--immature bald eagles, blue herons at the rookery; and in a separate story, a nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks.