EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY FOR
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REPORT 01-04
2001 RAPTOR MONITORING PROGRAM
ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK, MICHIGAN
Established in 1984, the annual Raptor Survey, conducted by Natural Resource
Management (NRM), monitors and assesses the productivity of Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) at Isle Royale National Park.
Four overflights and ground surveys facilitated the completion of the 2001 survey.
As in years past, a preliminary flight was conducted on 09 May to determine
the number of active Bald Eagle nest territories. The second flight, conducted
on 31 May, determined the final number of active Osprey nests, as Osprey initiate
nesting activity later in spring relative to Bald Eagles. Two additional flights,
flown on 09 July and 23 July, assessed the number of young produced from active
nest sites. The efforts for 2001, as in 2000, included a ground-based survey,
which offered comparison between ground and aerial methods to analyze the effectiveness
of the ground-based survey. The park hopes to eliminate late season flights
to reduce noise pollution within wilderness by using ground surveys instead
of overflights, as long as quality data can be obtained.
Overflights, along with ground observations, confirmed a total of 11 fledglings produced from 11 eagle nests and seven fledglings produced from seven osprey nests. Comparison of survey methods revealed that inadequate timing and the inability to locate certain nest sites could make ground-based surveys ineffectual. If ground-based surveys continue, it is recommended that strict adherence to visiting Bald Eagle nests the first week of July and Osprey nests during the last week needs to occur. Seasoned NRM staff or professionally trained volunteers should be used to conduct ground-based surveys, as these individuals ensure the collection of quality data and demonstrate field savvy.
If the late season ground-based survey persists, it will be important to catalog and document advantageous viewing sites for each nest within the park. Information such as location description, directions to, and coordinates of viewing sites will be essential to future ground reconnaissance. NRM recommends all four overflights and the ground survey occur in the 2002 field season, thus providing another year of data to compare effectiveness between ground and aerial survey methods.
Mark Romanski
Lead Biological Science Technician
Isle Royale National Park
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