Eagle at MNWR - Photo by Les Maynard
Prior to the 1950's New York State had upwards of 70 nesting pairs of bald eagles. A combination of events led to only one known active bald eagle nest in the entire state by 1960. This last nesting pair, like many of the others which had existed in the state, suffered from an accumulation of pesticides (primarily DDT) in their body tissues. This accumulation inhibited successful egg laying and consequently the production of young eagles. Other factors contributing to the decline of the birds in New York and elsewhere included the loss of necessary habitat and the illegal killing of the birds.
The drastic decline in numbers led the federal government to declare the bald eagle to be endangered in most of the lower 48 states.
In 1976, a program designed to reestablish nesting bald eagles in New York was undertaken at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The program involved the use of a falconry technique called "hacking" to release young bald eagles to the wild. The Montezuma program in 1976 was the first of it's kind on the North American continent.
In the hacking process, immature bald eagles were placed in artificial nests on a caged platform atop a high tower. The birds were fed carp and small mammals until they were ready to fly. The feeding was done carefully so that the young birds would not associate people with food or lose their fear of humans.
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge was chosen as the site for the release program because of its central location, large amounts of suitable habitat, abundance of prey species, and limited disturbances. In addition, Montezuma was formerly an active bald eagle nesting site as late as 1959, with young last successfully produced in 1956.
From 1976 to 1980 a total of 23 bald eagles were released at the refuge through the hacking program. The birds were obtained from wild nests in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and from the captive breeding stock at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Research Laboratory in Patuxent, Maryland. The project demonstrated that young bald eagles can be reared in man-made situations and still learn to hunt, feed, and survive on their own. The program attained its greatest success in the spring of 1980 when the first two eagles released in the program (1976) successfully nested in northern New York (more information). In 1981, the hacking project was expanded and relocated to the Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area in western New York.
During early July of 1987 a local farmer reported seeing a large nest in an isolated location on the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Field inspection of the site disclosed not only the nest but the presence of two nearly grown eaglets. The young eagles were approximately 11 weeks old and only days away from being ready to fledge (leave the nest for the first time). The two young birds were the first to be produced at Montezuma in over 30 years.
An additional surprise came when a trio, rather than a pair, of eagles were observed tending to the young. These three adult eagles (a white-tagged male released in 1978 from Montezuma, an unmarked female bird, and a yellow-tagged male bird released in 1982 from the Oak Orchard hacking site) had frequented the same areas of the refuge since 1986.
A nest site examination, completed after the eaglets fledged, revealed that the tree supporting the nest was in very poor condition. The tree was a dead elm and the nest was precariously perched 50 feet (15 meters) up on an overhanging branch. The location of the nest and the deteriorated condition of the tree made it virtually certain that the nest would fall during winter storms or, worse yet, during the spring when eggs or young were in the nest.
In late December, the refuge staff joined forces with the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to stabilize the bald eagle nest. A 75 foot (23 meter) utility pole was installed next to the nest tree, just under the nest. Working at the top of the pole, the utility's linemen cut the supporting limbs and secured the nest to the new platform.
The trio of eagles produced one young from the pole nest before building a second nest within their nesting territory. The second nest was located in a dead snag on Tschache Pool, and was used from 1990 to 1993. In November of 1993, the nest tree blew down during a storm. Since 1994, the trio has nested in a nearby lie cottonwood tree on the northwestern end of Tschache Pool.
A fourth bald eagle was observed on the Refuge throughout 1992, this bird began forming a "pair bond" with a fifth bald eagle in 1993. Although the fifth bird was a sub-adult (4 years old) and not reproductively mature, this pair began construction of a second nest in 1993.
For the first time in the history of the Refuge, two nests of bald eagles produced young during the 1994 nesting season.
Early in the morning of September 7 1998 (Labor Day) there was a serious storm that passed through upstate New York, particularly the area betwen Rochester and Syracuse. Fortunately, there was not a lot of damage to the refuge. Unfortunately, both eagle nests were destroyed by the storm, although the eagles remained in the area.
As of February 1999, both the trio and the pair had built new nests near Tschache pool, and as of March 18, 1999, both nesting groups had mated and were incubating. However, the trio of bald eagles appears to have abandoned their nesting attempt. It is believed that the proximity of the two nests (less than 1/4-mile apart) caused too much intraspecific competition.
The female of the trio was not seen in 2000; the pair is still using the South nest and have hatched 3 chicks. In 2001 the trio once again nested on Armitage Road.
Once the trees have leafed out, the active nest is no longer visible. Visitors should use the Tschache Pool Observation Tower telescope, located off Route 89 just north of the New York State Thruway, to scan the tree line and other nearby perches for adult eagles.
Juvenile bald eagles have been routinely observed from the Visitor Center area of the refuge. These birds are frequently sitting in the dead tree at the beginning of the Wildlife Drive.
| Year | The Trio | South Nest |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 2 fledged | - |
| 1988 | none | - |
| 1989 | 2 fledged | - |
| 1990 | 2 fledged | - |
| 1991 | 2 fledged | - |
| 1992 | 2 fledged | - |
| 1993 | none | - |
| 1994 | 1 fledged | 2 fledged |
| 1995 | 2 fledged | 2 fledged |
| 1996 | 3 fledged | 1 fledged |
| 1997 | 2 fledged | 2 fledged |
| 1998 | 2 fledged | 1 fledged |
| 1999 | Nest abandoned | 3 fledged |
| 2000 | Unknown | 3 fledged |
| 2001 | 1 hatched | 2 hatched |
| 2002 | 1 hatched | 2 (maybe 3) hatched |
All recent eagle activity at Montezuma has occurred at or around Tschache Pool. Visitors are most likely to observe the birds from the observation tower (binoculars or a spotting scope are generally required). Tschache Pool dike (road) is open for 150 yards (137 meters) at the south end of the pool. The rest of the area is closed for the eagles' best interest and protection. Eagles will not tolerate human disturbance in their nesting territory, for humans are considered a threat to themselves and their young.
In 1980, only four years after her release, Agnes began breeding in the Perch River Area of New York State. This was a great achievement for the hacking program. Not only did it demonstrate that hacked birds could survive on their own, but they would also successfully nest in New York. The success of this bird became the foundation for New York's expanded eagle hacking program. It wasn't long before other states began bald eagle restoration programs modeled after New York's. Although Agnes eventually lost the visible patagial (wing) tag, she still had a leg band. It is believed that she has continued to breed at the Perch River site since 1980. On January 30th of this year New York State DEC Biologists caught Agnes while capturing bald eagles wintering along the St. Lawrence River. One of the people involved in her capture was Peter Nye, Endangered Species Specialist with the New York State DEC, who twenty five years ago placed Agnes in the hacking tower.
In the twenty years that have passed since that important 1980 milestone, bald eagles in New York and across the United States, have made a dramatic comeback. New York state had more that fifty territories in 2000, with thirty four nests producing seventy young. Bald eagle enthusiasts owe a great deal of gratitude to the handful of dedicated men and women who had the courage to explore the unknown in 1976. These people included both DEC and Refuge personnel and Dr. Tom Cade and his staff at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
In 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the bald eagle's status from endangered to threatened in all of the lower 48 states, except in the Southwestern Recovery Region (primarily New Mexico and Arizona) where its status remains endangered.
The return of bald eagles to the skies of the United States is an Endangered Species Act success story. Continued public interest and protection of habitat will ensure a bright future for our national symbol.
The future for the bald eagle in New York and at Montezuma looks very bright. Levels of environmental contaminants such as DDT, which have drastically affected bald eagles, are declining. Montezuma's place in the future of the bald eagle's return is very secure. And, in view of the contributions that the Montezuma birds have made to eagle successes in other areas of the state, it seems somehow very appropriate that some of the birds have finally come home to roost.