DWH NRDA Eagle Aerial Survey

Description

Data were collected primarily by the College of William and Mary personnel, under contract to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working cooperatively with representatives from BP/CardnoENTRIX. The objective of this study was to estimate re-occupancy rates for bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests within an area of potential impact and a reference study area along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The area of potential impact included nearshore areas from Atchafalaya Bay, LA to Apalachicola Bay, FL, and the reference area included nearshore areas from Apalachicola Bay, FL to Charlotte Harbor, FL. From December 2010 to April 2011, the study area was aerially surveyed to map occupied eagle nests and assess nest activity and chick production for comparison to data from the reference area. Additional details on the surveys and analysis pertaining to the Bird Study #9 Eagle dataset are provided in the End of Study Report (Natural Resource Damage Assessment Pre-Assessment Work Plan for Determining Injury to Bald Eagles from the Deepwater Horizon (MSC 252) Oil Spill (Bird Study #9): End of Study Draft Final Report, Center for Conservation Biology, December 2011). The DWH NRDA Eagel Aerial Survey dataset includes the information collected during these aerial surveys (e.g., information on the number of adults and/or chicks observed in each nest, nest condition, and the activity/behavior of the birds).

Resources

Name Format Description Link
53 DWH NRDA Eagle Aerial Survey dataset. Dataset verification and validation completed in February, 2016. https://iris.fws.gov/APPS/ServCat/DownloadFile/152349?Reference=101723

Tags

  • nrda
  • eagle
  • oil-spill
  • general-biology-species-birds
  • bald-eagle
  • bird
  • avian
  • haliaeetus-leucocephalus
  • dwh
  • aerial-survey
  • deepwater-horizon

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