According to the Ecology Alaska website, one of the bald eagle researchers I photographed tagging bald eagles last fall, Rachel Wheat, was recently awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The award will fund her work tagging and tracking bald eagles for the next three years. Congratulations Rachel!

One of the things I thought interesting about her work last year was that she and others on her team funded their research in a novel, non-traditional way through the crowd-funding website, Kickstarter. I thought crowd funding research was an innovative idea when she told me about it. Also somewhat unusual, she and others on the Ecology Alaska team produce a website with detailed field reports on the progress of their research and what it is like doing field research in the wilds of Alaska.

At RIGHT: Rachel Wheat, a graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz, poses for a photo with bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) “4P” before releasing the bald eagle back into the wild. Wheat is conducting a migration study of the bald eagles that visit the Chilkat River for her doctoral dissertation. She hopes to learn how closely eagles track salmon availability across time and space. The bald eagles are being tracked using solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters (also known as a PTT – platform transmitter terminal) that attach to the backs of the eagles using a lightweight harness. A handmade leather hood is placed over the bald eagle’s eyes to keep the bird calm. Leather booties cover the bald eagle’s powerful talons to protect researchers during the process of taking measurements and attaching the GPS satellite transmitter.

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See additional photos of the researchers capturing and tagging bald eagles on the Chilkat River for their migration study.

Learn more about Wheat’s bald eagle research on the Ecology Alaska website.

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One thing I neglected to mention in that post is that in addition to recording hours and hours of audio, I also shot video. Actually, a lot of video. I’m confident to say that I shot more video than stills. While it is a bit overwhelming at the moment to have to edit, but I’m looking forward to working with that material. I’ll talk about my reasons for my emphasis on video in a future blog post.

So here is a slideshow of a few of my favorite still photos from my trip last October – November on the Chilkat River in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska.

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For more photos see:
Gallery of bald eagle photos from the Chilkat River and Chilkoot River
Gallery of landscape photos from the Haines, Alaska area
Gallery of photos from the Juneau, Alaska area

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Continuing with my recent post on bald eagle research being conducted on the Chilkat River in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, I thought it would be interesting to show a video clip and photos of an eagle that is part of a different research project.

Research bald eagle number 24 is one of three eagles that are part of the research study being conducted by Steve Lewis of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Juneau, Alaska. The study is examining the effects of eagle nest removal at the Juneau airport (approximately 95 miles away). Number 24 is one of a pair of bald eagles who were nesting near the pond airstrip where float planes land and take off.

A year earlier, I photographed research bald eagle number 88, a control bird in that study. Research bald eagle number 88 originally had a GPS tracking pack, but later lost it. Interestingly, I photographed research bald eagle number 24 very near were I had previously photographed research bald eagle number 88.

Unlike the eagles I recently photographed that were part of Rachel Wheat‘s study, research bald eagles numbers 24 and 88 have a patagial tag (green wing tag) along with the solar powered GPS tracking satellite transmitter. The transmitter’s antenna can be seen sticking out of the eagle’s feathers to the right of the green patagial tag.

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VIEW PHOTO GALLERY of bald eagle photos from the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska

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Rachel Wheat, a graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz, releases bald eagle “4P” back into the wild. Wheat is conducting a migration study of bald eagle that visit the Chilkat River using GPS satellite transmitters. Note the GPS transmitter on the eagle’s back and the dual leg bands. One leg band is used by the researcher and the other is registered with the U.S. Geological Survey.

On my most recent trip late last fall to photograph bald eagles on the Chilkat River, I made a conscious decision to shake my photography up. While I don’t claim to have the definitive bald eagle photograph (yet), I do have quite a few keepers in my archive. It was time to move beyond simply photographing bald eagles themselves and begin to take a more all-encompassing approach to the subject of the bald eagles that visit the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska.

To start me in that direction, I decided exploring the subject of bald eagles from the perspective of a researcher would be a good place to start. This would allow me to get back to my storytelling roots, while at the same time broaden my knowledge of bald eagles.

So instead of spending time by myself photographing eagles, I spent time photographing those who study them. Lucky for me, there were two distinctly different groups of researchers working on the river while I was there. Both with interesting stories to tell.

Counting bald eagles – Haines School Citizen Science Class

First, was a Citizen Science class from the local school. Since 2009, students have been conducting a weekly count of bald eagles during the fall semester for the citizen science class at the Haines School in Haines, AK. The project is part of a field-based for-credit class, sponsored by the Takshanuk Watershed Council, in which students participate in research studies and learn about field data collection. Under the guidance of Pam Randles, Takshanuk Watershed Council Education Director, students count bald eagles in the Chilkat River Valley using spotting scopes at 10 locations and present their data at the Bald Eagle Festival held in November in Haines. During late fall, bald eagles congregate along the Chilkat River near Haines to feed on salmon in what is believed to be the largest gathering of bald eagles in the world. This sounded perfect. Students interested in doing real science and fieldwork for their community sounded like a publishable story to me. I also recorded quite a bit of natural sound of the students doing their eagle count survey. My goal is to produce along with the still photo coverage, an audio-only report and perhaps a multimedia report (audio, video, and stills). There were aspects of the process the citizen scientists use to do their counts that made it perfect for an audio-only report. Bet you never thought a photographer would propose something like that!

Adobe Flash required to view slideshow above. Mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad – click here to view.
To license an image, click image. to see our collection of fine art prints, click here

Capturing and tracking bald eagles from the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

While working with the Citizen Science students I discovered they would be meeting a team of researchers who were capturing bald eagles for a migration study of the eagles that visit the Chilkat River in Alaska. The study is being conducted by Rachel Wheat, a graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz. She hopes to learn how closely bald eagles track salmon availability across time and space. The bald eagles are being tracked using solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters (also known as a PTT – platform transmitter terminal) that attach to the backs of the eagles using a lightweight harness. Helping with the eagle capturing was Steve Lewis, Raptor Management Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Juneau Field Office.

Lewis employed leg snare traps and a net launcher for the capturing. Leg snare traps employ a looped cord on a hinged perch. When a bald eagle lands on the perch a spring is sprung which tightens a looped cord around the bald eagle’s legs. The net launcher uses three projectiles attached to a large lightweight net. A salmon carcass is used at bait in front of the launcher. A radio-controlled trigger to launch the net is used when an eagle lands next to the bait. In addition to the GPS satellite transmitter installation, researchers attached leg id bands and took measurements including blood and a small feather sample for analysis. To keep the eagle calm during the entire process, a hood covered the bald eagle’s eyes and leather booties protected researchers from the eagle’s talons.

Information about Wheat’s bald eagle migration study and the latest updates on the locations of the bald eagles she is tracking can be found on the Ecology Alaska website.

Social media and education outreach are an important facet of Wheat’s project. Wheat along with Yiwei Wang, graduate student, University of California Santa Cruz and Dr. Taal Levi, wildlife ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies funded their various Alaska research projects through an innovative Kickstarter fundraising campaign. I highly recommend that you check out the Ecology Alaska website. They are a group of excited and dedicated scientists who do a great job of making science understandable and fun.

I’m really looking forward to telling the story of both the Citizen Science eagle count survey and University of California – Santa Cruz migration research efforts as I work on producing publishable packages about their work.
 

Adobe Flash required to view slideshow above. Mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad – click here to view.
To license an image, click image. to see our collection of fine art prints, click here

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY of bald eagle photos from the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska

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I visit Haines, Alaska several times a year as part of my ongoing project photographing and filming the bald eagles that congregate in the nearby Chilkoot and Chilkat River Valleys each fall. I look forward to my visits for the friendly people and the natural beauty of the area — arguably some of the best any town in Alaska has to offer.

Haines is a a small town (population 2,554) nestled in between the majestic Takhinsha and Takshanuk Mountains and the bountiful salmon-rich ocean waters of the Lynn Canal. Much of the Haines Borough boundary is the mountains that separate it from Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve with its incredible glaciers, and its summer visitors — humpback whales. Abutting Glacier Bay National Park and up the highway from Haines are three more National or Provincial Parks (Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Kluane National Park (Canada) and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park (Canada). Together they form the one of the largest internationally protected areas on the planet. While challenging to access, that is still quite a backyard to have.

The upper Lynn Canal area of Haines is not just rich in beauty and wildlife but is also rich in resources — rich in minerals and rich in fisheries. Chilkoot River salmon are harvested by commercial fishermen, by sports fishermen, and for subsistence. Salmon play an important role in the area’s economy and lifestyle. The Connelly Lake Hydro Aquatic Studies Report for 2012 prepared by the Shipley Group for Alaska Power and Telephone Company (AP&T) states that according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 41 percent of the sockeye salmon in the upper Lynn Canal come from the Chilkoot River with 25 percent of those salmon spawning in the Chilkoot River drainage above Chilkoot Lake. The value of the fishery is estimated at more than $1,000,000 annually.

So when AP&T, the power company that serves Haines, announced a proposal for a hydroelectric project using a high alpine lake above one of the area’s important salmon spawning rivers, I couldn’t help but wonder how this delicate balance of resources would play out with locals. This curiosity led me to fly above the lake to see for myself.

Connelly Lake (formerly known as Upper Chilkoot Lake) is the focus of a proposed $32 million, 12-megawatt hydroelectric project by AP&T. The power company proposes to build a dam at the outlet of the 90-acre alpine lake that would create a 160-acre reservoir and a 6,200-foot-long penstock down the side of the mountain where water would be delivered to two turbine generators located in a powerhouse near the Chilkoot River into which the lake water would be discharged. Some of the main features of the proposed Connelly Lake project (for example portions of the penstock, the powerhouse, access roads, and the transmission line) would be located in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and the Haines State Forest.

Environmental concerns include the impact construction and project operation would have on fish spawning and rearing habitat (water turbidity issues), and bald eagles. Bears and bald eagles rely on the salmon that use the Chilkoot Valley in the fall and early winter when they are attracted to late spawning salmon runs. AP&T wants to build the project to replace an undersea cable that currently supplies Haines with hydro-powered electricity from Skagway. If the cable would ever become unusable, then Haines would need to depend on diesel-generated electricity produced in Haines.

After seeing Connelly Lake and how it is situated high above the Chilkoot River, my immediate question is how well would the dam stand up to earthquakes? I think back to the collapse of a man-made mountain top reservoir outside St. Louis, Missouri (Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Power Station); also built for generating electricity. It sent a billion gallons of water down the mountain washing away a dense growth forest and scouring the ground down to bedrock before sending a 20 foot high crest of water down one of the prettiest streams in the state.

While most Haines residents see clean hydropower as a viable and economical solution to the community’s growing power needs, some feel that it might come at too high a price if the salmon spawning waters of the Chilkoot River are put at risk or even worse, damaged. Others see it as vital if Haines wants to grow. The Connelly Lake hydropower project is still in it’s early stages. How it will play out is unclear.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission posts documents pertaining to the project online. As an example, the Second Six Month Progress Report” from Alaska Power & Telephone Company (26MB download) has quite a bit of research study information regarding the salmon and other fish that inhabit the Chilkoot River. You can find other documents like this by searching the FERC Online eLibrary using the “Full Text Search” feature. Search for “Connelly Lake.”

The outlet stream of Connelly Lake, Connelly Creek (center), descends 2,138 feet to the floor of the Chilkoot Valley where it joins the Chilkoot River. A 6,200-foot-long penstock would be built down the side of the mountain where water would be delivered to two turbine generators located in a powerhouse near the Chilkoot River into which the lake water would be discharged. Some of the main features of the proposed Connelly Lake hydroelectric project would be located in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and the Haines State Forest.

For more photos see:
Gallery of landscape photos from the Haines, Alaska area
Gallery of all my bald eagle photos from the Chilkat River and Chilkoot River

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