Updates: Eagles, 4N, t-shirts

It's time for some updates! First off, a look at where our four GPS-tagged eagles have been hanging out.

Not much has changed in the past couple weeks. Both females, 3E and 4P, continue to spend their time along the Chilkat River. We're beginning to wonder if both of these birds might be residents. There is still plenty of time for them to leave the area and travel southward, but for now it seems as if they are both perfectly happy sticking near Klukwan.

3E:

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Trivia Question of the Week

It's time for the TQOTW!

How long do brown bears hibernate?

Hint #1: When brown bears hibernate, they're not really sleeping the entire time. They rouse themselves periodically to keep their temperatures elevated. This is particularly true with females, who give birth to and feed young while in the den.

Hint #2: Although we expect bears to hibernate throughout the winter, this isn't always true. Some bears will be active mid-winter, although most will avoid the cold temperatures and heavy snow by denning up and sleeping it out.

Hint #3: Brown bears will add six to eight inches of fat before hibernation, which acts to store energy and for insulation. That has to last them quite a long time...

Hint #4: Although bears may wake during hibernation, they usually do not feed at all during this time period. A special hormone in their blood stream, leptin, works to suppress the bear's appetite.

Hint #5: A good general rule of thumb is that bears will hibernate from mid- to late-autumn through spring.

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If you guessed November through April, you're right on! Female brown bears around Haines, monitored by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game with radio collars, have been observed hibernating, on average, between November 6th and April 29th of each year. Some bears will enter their dens later and/or emerge earlier, and hibernation times vary widely based on geographic region. Black bears usually hibernate October through March. In some temperate ecosystems that don't see much snow, some black bears won't hibernate at all.

Feast

I've been sifting through our trail camera photos, trying to pick out the best ones to share, as well as identify those that detail animal behavior. We captured a few interesting events-- bears rubbing on trees and chasing after fish in the stream, flocks of crows appearing and disappearing just as quickly-- but since we're right in the middle of the holiday season, it seemed fitting to talk about feasts! When salmon are plentiful, bears will high-grade salmon, eating only the energy rich, fatty parts of the fish: the skin, roe, and brains. When salmon decrease in numbers, however, a bear will make good work of a salmon carcass, eating everything it can.

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Trivia Question of the Week

This week's trivia question is appropriately related to eagle migration: How far do bald eagles migrate?

Hint #1: It's not nearly as far as an arctic tern. 

Hint #2: We've determined these distances through the use of leg bands and telemetry.

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Eagle Update!

Although 4N's tag is out of commission, we still have four birds to follow! We're always excited to see where these eagles are moving, and we hope you are, too.

First up, the females! Both females, 3E, the adult, and 4P, the immature eagle, have been sticking around the Chilkat Valley.

3E has made a couple trips to the ridgeline south of the Chilkat, but is otherwise hanging out around the area between 19- and 21-mile on the Haines Highway-- pretty much the only region of the Chilkat River that is unfrozen this time of year:

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SUPER IMPORTANT: T-shirt ordering!

Hey everyone! We're getting ready to order and print our t-shirts. For those of you that contributed $50 or more to the project during our Kickstarter campaign, there's a t-shirt coming your way. If you missed out on getting a t-shirt in our initial funding drive, or you'd like to order additional t-shirts for your friends/family now that you've seen our awesome design, now's your chance! Since it is more cost-effective to print t-shirts in larger order sizes, we're going to be printing additional shirts.
If you'd like to purchase a t-shirt, or additional t-shirts, please email us at ecologyalaska@gmail.com with the following information by 8:00 PM PST Sunday, December 16th:

• Number of shirts
• Kid's or adult?
• Men's or women's?
• Size
• Ship or pick-up?

T-shirts will be gender-specific, so be sure to take that into account when ordering. Additional shirts will cost $17.50 for adult shirts and $12.50 for children's sizes. This covers the cost of printing the shirts and shipping. If you are in the Bay area and would like to pick up your shirt(s) from us, costs will run $15 for adults and $10 for children. We will accept payment through PayPal (preferred) or personal check, and payment must be received in full before shipment.

 Shirts will be printed on a charcoal background, which looks pretty darn spiffy! The shirts will also say "Ecology Alaska" in the blank space in the upper portion of the state. We're excited to get these shirts printed, so please let us know if you'd like additional shirts and we'll get the order underway!

4N

Rigby and I are back in Santa Cruz, adjusting to things we haven't seen in a while-- stoplights, traffic, and sunshine, just to name a few. We've finally managed to get internet up and running in our new place, so it's back to blogging!

Today's entry focuses on one of the more frustrating aspects of working with wild animals: data loss. So far, we've been getting pretty reliable information from the GPS tags on our eagles, but the data are not without problems. Since the tags are solar powered, they need to have reliable sunshine to keep the battery charged and the device functioning. In southeast Alaska, where snow is a daily occurrence and daylight hours are rapidly diminishing, it's tough for the tags to get the juice they need. This is complicated by the fact that the Chilkat River is surrounded on both sides by relatively steep mountain ranges. Even when the sun does come out, much of the river is still in shadow.

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Trivia Question of the Week!

Hey everyone - Rachel just got back to Santa Cruz after a long drive and equally long ferry ride. She's currently without internet, so I am filling in for the trivia question this week! We'll be back soon with updates on eagle travels and tshirt news!

How many species of salmon are there in Alaska? 

The endangered knit salmon - Courtesy of Jenn Allen

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