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August 2017

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From:
robert lane <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
robert lane <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:57:58 +0000
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To anyone interested in knowing my procedure for performing my eagle counts, here it is. First of all, the maximum number of eagles are usually visibly present between 7:30AM and 9:00AM, depending on the weather conditions. By 10:00AM, most have dispersed for the day. My count begins when I have made a determination that the eagles have completed their morning gathering on the east breakwall, with sometimes as many as 31 lined up on the wall. The total count is done from only two scope setup locations. From a random spot on "The Sandspit", at a chosen time, with my Swarovski spotting scope, I do a total sweep of the harbor area. Obviously, any eagles on the spit have already been counted, I then begin on the west wall, along the lighthouse wall, along the east wall, the aggregate piles, and the trees in the background. About seventy-five percent of the eagles are stationary targets, easy to count. I also count eagles in flight as I do my one time sweep. At times you can have 4 to 6 juvenile eagles on 4 different aggregate piles. The count total can add up quickly. If the opportunity arises, with either my wife Denise, or a birding acquaintance, they do an independent count at the same time with their scope to verify the number. Next, I drive immediately straight up to the top of the hill to the parking lot on Ford Avenue to view The Conneaut Creek ship channel, all the conveyor systems, the backsides of the aggregate plies, and the eagles on the ground. The eagles seen from this location are almost always stationary targets. Yesterday there were 24 eagles seen from this setup. The time duration of my total count is usually completed in less than a half hour. Because the count is completed in such a short period of time, I believe there is very little chance of counting an eagle twice. My count number is an actual count, not an estimate. Thinking of how many eagles I may I have missed or overlooked, the count would probably be higher. To achieve the maximum number of eagles, it is all relative to a little luck and the timing of the count. And always, juveniles far out number the adults!


Bob Lane / Mahoning County


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