The Ferry Bluff Eagle Council and Raptor Education Group of Antigo, WI have successfully concluded their research on injured eagles that were rehabilitated and released in Sauk Prairie. Contrary to a recent press release by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), that department was involved only in issuing the permits that they required for the tracking.

Many injured eagles have been rehabilitated by Marge Gibson of the Antigo-based Raptor Education Group. If they are ready to be released during the winter, she often brings them here to set them free on the Wisconsin River where other eagles are fishing in open water below the dam. But little was known about how well rehabilitated eagles fare after release. Marge was especially conserved about hatch-year birds who have had little experience in fending for themselves.

The Eagle Council agreed to supervise a tracking program to determine if the birds survived, where they were feeding and where they roosted at night. A generous contribution from Wollersheim Winery began a fund to purchase three radio collars. Tracking equipment was borrowed from the International Crane Foundation (IFC). Several ICF people, UW-Madison student and other volunteers spent hours faithfully listening for the beeps that would tell them where numbers 564, 511 and 614 were soaring or perching. Charles Koehler and Windway Aviation volunteered their services it air searched were needed, and they were pressed into service on several occasions.

The question of the bird's survival was answered almost immediately. Two of these were hatch-year birds and all three not only survived, they thrived. Another goal of this first project was to evaluate the logistics of carrying out a radio tracking project. The answer to this question was also yes but it would not have been possible without these responsible and dedicated volunteers. They were under the supervision of Council members Jeb Barzen and Rich Van. Rich reported: "Day after day I handed off equipment to volunteer trackers at dawn and didn't see them again until after dark. Not everyone can watch a birds sit in a tree all day and muster enough excitement over seeing it hop to another branch to come back next week. Not everyone can stand to the edge of a highway in the dark, getting direction fixes from a faint signal in the blistering cold and face semi-trucks like matadors. Not everyone can endure the frustration of trying to triangulate an unseen bird bent on soaring for half a day- then spend the next hour digging their car out of a snowy ditch in the middle of nowhere. The tracking volunteers endured all of the things, and more, and every one of them came back for more."

Following these eagles until they left, presumably to return to northern Wisconsin for the summer, revealed some new information about how eagles use the territory. Council members had identified 10 roosts being used to shelter eagles at night but this study led us to at least five additional ones. It also became apparent that these birds were roosting near their current foraging area. For instance, number 614 was the last to leave the area. He stayed in the vicinity of the Ferry Bluff roost for 10 days, part of the time he was soaring, perching and possibly fishing south of the Bluff. His primary focus, however, (along with many other adults and juveniles) was on farmland north of the bluff. The bird then moved to the Leland area and was found feeding on the deer carcasses there. After three days there, on Feb. 21st the bird disappeared, perhaps to head north.

Rich Van probably spoke for all the trackers when dy said: "It is a strange feeling, like a satellite leaving the solar system, its signal too weak to speak to us anymore; the birds are all gone, soaring in their own orbits to places only they will know."

In summary, he stated: "Much is known about the behavior and needs of summer nesting birds but little attention has been paid to wintering eagles. We need to understand more about their needs if we are to ensure their return each year. I think this pilot project is a step in that direction."