Nesting Studies of the Bald Eagle in Alaska
Hensel RJ and Troyer WA. 1964. Nesting Studies of the Bald Eagle in Alaska. The Condor. 66(4):282-286
A nesting study of the Bald Eagle was conducted in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska in 1959, 1961, and 1962. Territories were established from mid-March through April and were maintained through August. Territorial size varied from 28 to 112 acres. Nests per territory varied from one to three with one nest being the most common. All nests were in live cottonwood trees and averaged 53 feet in height above the ground. Nests averaged 63 inches in width and 38 inches in depth. Egg laying began in late April and reached a peak the second week in May. The mean clutch size was 1.7 eggs; incubation lasted about 34 days. Nesting success, based on number of young leaving nests in relation to number of eggs laid, varied from 33 to 77 per cent in the three seasons. A cause of nesting failure was abandonment. Data suggest that there has been no alarming decline in nesting numbers or productivity in the last decade.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hensel, Richard; Troyer, Willard
- Units
- GLBA , KLGO , SEAN , SITK
- Keywords
- Bald Eagle, Birds, Breeding Biology, Habitat Use, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Nest Sites, Nesting, Productivity, Raptors