JACKSON, Wyo. — In early November, the Teton Raptor Center (TRC) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation completed a nest building project to restore golden eagle territories across the Great Plains of Wyoming.
Historically golden eagles have lived in the Great Plains throughout the year. There are also populations that migrate to the Great Plains from northern Alaska, according to the TRC.
Teton Raptor Center Conservation Director Bryan Bedrosian told Buckrail that golden eagles are a conservation concern because populations are declining.
“A lot of us live in this area because we like wildlife, and Wyoming is to golden eagles as Wyoming is to sage grouse,” Bedrosian said. “We have the best habitats, and conserving the species of golden eagles benefits everybody in the state.”
To help bring back resident golden eagle populations, the TRC team built 10 golden eagle nests in Thunder Basin National Grassland, a region in northeastern Wyoming between the Big Horn Mountains and the Black Hills. Bedrosian said that raptors in Thunder Basin National Grassland primarily feed on jackrabbits, prairie dogs and cottontails.
“Golden eagles nest almost exclusively in trees in the great plains,” Bedrosian said. “Most people just think of golden eagles nesting on cliffs, which they do in most areas of the West. But in the plains they are taking advantage of the only vertical structures out in the grasslands, which are cottonwood trees, mostly.”
Bedrosian explained that when cottonwoods die and fall, eagles no longer have a place to nest. He said that their goal was to find regions where golden eagles used to live and recreate those territories. The raptor team used hundreds of sticks, grasses and brush to build nests that are approximately four feet in diameter and two feet high.
“We built four nests in trees that didn’t have the branching structure that allowed the birds to adequately build a nest,” Bedrosian said. “We put up six retired telephone poles and then essentially tried to turn them as best we could into a cottonwood tree by attaching branches and building the nest structure attached to the pole.”
According to Bedrosian, the TRC will monitor the nests for the next two years to see if they are active. Cameras strategically placed in the nests and aerial surveys will help record bird use. Bedrosian said that he is also working to determine the number of golden eagles nesting across Wyoming.
“We will by flying about 200 hours worth of flights to find every single nest in Converse County, which includes some of Thunder Basin National Grassland but also areas being developed for wind, oil, gas, coal and uranium,” Bedrosian said.
Bedrosian said that Raptor Mapper, an interactive tool to map seasonal raptor habitats, will help determine what regions are most favorable for the birds. According to Bedrosian, golden eagles need big wide open spaces, and threats including habitat loss, lead poisoning from ingesting ammunition from gut piles, electrocutions and vehicle collisions kill the species. He also says that the newest emerging threat to eagles is wind farm fatalities.
“This is a project designed to enhance habitat and essentially make more eagles,” Bedrosian said.
Bedrosian says that the TRC will continue its efforts to offset raptor mortality.
