Catalina Island's Eagles

CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY

PROTECT

SINCE 1972

CATALINA ISLAND'S EAGLES

The West End bald eagles, A-61 (Akecheta) and K-91 (Thunder), were the first to lay eggs in the Channel Islands this season in late January and early February. The three eggs hatched successfully in mid-March, with the young birds fledging (beginning to fly) in early June. With these successful hatchings, three generations of Bald eagles resided on Catalina Island. Thunder hatched in 2009 at Two Harbors to K-81 (Chase) and K-82 (Cholyn), who have been breeding together at that nest since at least 2003 and continue to this day.

“We’ve marked almost every bird that’s hatched or been released on the Island, so we can get the lineages that no one else can get,” said Dr. Peter Sharpe with the Institute for Wildlife Studies. “Being able to follow them is interesting and adds a lot of information to where birds go when they breed elsewhere.”

The Conservancy has a longstanding partnership with the Institute for Wildlife Studies that has reintroduced bald eagles to the skies above Catalina, with Sharpe directing bald eagle restoration and monitoring projects on Catalina Island for 25 years. Hundreds of tons of DDT dumped into the Channel between 1947 and 1961 resulted in the thinning of eggshells to the point of nonviability. The Island’s bald eagle population has recovered thanks to the hard work of biologists. Following years of recovery and dedication, it is incredible to see three healthy generations of bald eagles on Catalina.