Tag: Bald Eagles

Two men indicted for selling eagles in ‘killing spree’ of 3,600 birds

The alleged poachers face years in prison and fines up to $250,000 after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Montana.

Two men who allegedly killed approximately 3,600 birds, including bald eagles and golden eagles, face years in prison and fines up to $250,000 after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Montana.

Simon Paul and Travis John Branson are accused of poaching bald eagles and golden eagles on the Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere from January 2015 to March 2021 and then illegally selling them on the black market, according to the indictment posted online by the Daily Montanan.

“During the investigation, law enforcement uncovered messages from Branson and others describing the illegal taking of eagles by stating, ‘[O]ut [here] committing felonies,’ and telling buyers he was ‘on a killing spree’ to obtain eagle tail feathers for future sales,” the indictment states.

They were indicted on one count of conspiracy (penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine), 13 counts of unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles (penalty for first offense is one year in prison and a $5,000 fine, second and subsequent conviction is two years in prison and a $10,000 fine), and one count of violating the Lacey Act involving wildlife with a market value in excess of $350 (penalty is five years in prison and a $20,000 fine).

The Lacey Act combats trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish or plants.

The indictment details the sale of 13 bald eagle and golden eagle parts or entire birds with the dates each were poached.

“From January 2019 until March 2021, Simon Paul lived near Ronan on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and he was a ‘shooter’ and ‘shipper’ of bald and golden eagles for Travis John Branson,” the indictment reads. “When Branson arrived on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Paul would meet and help kill, transport, and ship bald and golden eagles for future sales on the black market.”

On March 13, 2021, Brandon and Paul used a “previously killed deer to lure in eagles,” and shot and killed a golden eagle that day.

“A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana said they could not comment further on the indictment and case,” the Daily Montanan reported. “Paul and Branson were issued summons to appear in court in Missoula on Jan. 8 for arraignments.”

The Daily Montanan reported that a man from Hardin, Montana, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution for killing 14 juvenile eagles after he was indicted in May 2022. He was found guilty of three violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons and the Missouri Dept. of Conservation.

Watch: Bald eagle vocalizations not what you hear in the movies

Bald eagles are mighty and ferocious-looking, but contrary to popular belief they do not possess the piercing cries attributed to them by Hollywood sound editors.

Bald eagles are mighty and ferocious-looking, but contrary to popular belief they do not possess the piercing cries attributed to them by Hollywood sound editors.

In fact, bald eagle vocalizations are comparatively more subdued and chirpy – said by some to resemble laughter.

As Explore.org and the Raptor Resource Project explained Monday in a social-media video post: “Movies and TV shows often use a red-tailed hawk’s vocalizations to represent a bald eagle, but here’s what they truly sound like.”

The footage (posted below) shows two bald eagles conversing about what appear to be serious matters.

For comparison, click here to listen to red-tailed hawk vocalizations.

This topic seems to be raised each year as bald eagles enter their nest-building and breeding seasons.

The Alaska Raptor Center last January informed its followers: “Hollywood sound editors often dub over a Bald Eagle’s call with another bird’s vocalization? The piercing, earthy screams of a Red-tailed Hawk.”

The Raptor Center used residents Sunset and Thor as examples of bald eagles “showing off their vocalization skills.”

Again, whatever they discussed – or argued about? – seemed deadly serious.

Bald eagle nests are massive, and this beauty is a high-rise

Bald eagle nests come in various shapes and sizes, and it seems as though one nest in Vancouver is beginning to resemble a high rise.

Bald eagle nests come in various shapes and sizes, and one nest in Vancouver is beginning to resemble a high-rise.

“Look at mama bald eagle at the top of this nest – one of the biggest I’ve seen!” Pacificnorthwestkate tweeted on Tuesday. “Every year more sticks get added.”

To be sure, the eagle family Kate has observed is moving up. She told FTW Outdoors that the nest measures about 15 feet tall “and it’s getting bigger every year.”

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the largest bald eagle nest on record, in St. Petersburg, Fla., was 20 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter.

The Lab’s All About Birds website states that a nest in Vermilion, Ohio, was famous for being shaped like a wine glass. It weighed nearly two metric tons and was used for 34 years “until the tree blew down.”

Replica of a typical bald eagle nest at Hueston Woods State Park

In 2021, the Forest Park Nature Center in Illinois shared an image showing a ranger sitting inside a scale-model of a typical nest, measuring 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

The image revealed how an ordinary bald eagle nest would look if it were not partially hidden by branches. (The replica nest is housed at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.)

Bald eagle guards nest from a treetop. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

A nest that I’ve been observing, in east San Diego County, is of the typical variety and has been used for years by the same bald eagle pair.

I’ve included two recent images – one showing an adult eagle guarding the nest from the treetop, and another showing a newly hatched chick next to a watchful parent.

Newly hatched chick stands under a parent’s watchful eye. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

The ungainly youngster revealed its fuzzy head Sunday as I was about to leave my observation point.

Bald eagle chicks fledge after 10-12 weeks. After they fledge, immature bald eagles can travel great distances in search of a preferred territory.

From All About Birds: “Immature bald eagles spend the first four years of their lives in nomadic exploration of vast territories and can fly hundreds of miles per day.

“Some young birds from Florida have wandered north as far as Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska.”

Bald eagle attain their classic regal appearance, with white crowns and tail feathers, after about five years.

–Follow Pacificnorthwestkate on Instagram

How bald eagles really sound (it’s not like in the movies)

The Alaska Raptor Center has shared footage of bald eagles vocalizing, and their sounds are nothing like those you might be familiar with.

The Alaska Raptor Center on Saturday shared footage showing bald eagles vocalizing loudly while perched on a branch.

These are typical bald eagle sounds, almost chirpy, like laughter – not anything like the iconic screeches you hear from eagles portrayed in Hollywood.

The Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit hospital/rehabilitation facility for raptors, explained as much in the following video Tweet.

“Did you know, Hollywood sound editors often dub over a Bald Eagle’s call with another bird’s vocalization?” the Alaska Raptor Center informs. “The piercing, earthy screams of a Red-tailed Hawk.”

RELATED: It’s bald eagle nesting season, and those nests can be massive 

To hear more bald eagle vocalizations, open this link and click on the “listen” tab.

To hear red-tailed hawk vocalizations, click here and listen to their various calls.

The eagles in the video are named Sunset and Thor.

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It’s bald eagle nesting season, and those nests can be massive

Bald eagles around the country are preparing to raise new broods and those who admire them, via live-cams or in person, might wonder just how large are those nests?

–Editor’s note: A version of this post was published last April

Bald eagles around the country are preparing to raise new broods and those who admire them, via live-cams or in person, might wonder just how large are those nests?

One answer is provided in a photograph that circulates each year via social media, showing a ranger sitting in a replica nest measuring five feet wide and three feet deep – the approximate dimensions of a four-person hot tub.

The photo was originally shared last in 2021 year by Forest Park Nature Center in Illinois. The Facebook post states that the replica nest is housed at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.

But bald eagle nests are often much larger. The Forest Park Nature Center explained that the largest recorded nest “measured 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and weighed almost 6,000 pounds!”

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That nest, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, was constructed by eagles in St. Petersburg, Fla. The lab’s “All About Birds” website states: “Another famous nest — in Vermilion, Ohio — was shaped like a wine glass and weighed almost two metric tons. It was used for 34 years until the tree blew down.”

Bald eagle guards nest from treetop. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Nests are typically built in the tallest conifers. While both parents build a nest, the female performs most of the branch and twig placement.

Earlier this month, in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in east San Diego County, I captured the accompanying image showing a bald eagle atop a towering tree, guarding the nest with eggs about 20 feet below.

The other eagle was in a nearby tree, also standing guard, while pesky ravens communicated among themselves, raucously, in another tree.

Bald eagle on nest duty. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Eaglets, after they fledge, generally spend about four years in “nomadic exploration of vast territories” and can fly hundreds of miles per day.

Immature bald eagles born in California, for example, have traveled as far north as Alaska.

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How large are bald eagle nests? Much larger than you might think

Bald eagles around the country are raising families this spring and people watching them, in person or via live-cams, might be wondering just how large are those nests?

Bald eagles around the country are raising families this spring and people watching them, in person or via live-cams, might be wondering just how large are those nests?

An answer is provided in a photograph making the rounds via social media, showing a ranger sitting in a replica nest measuring five feet wide and three  feet deep.

Bald eagle chicks. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The photo was originally shared last year by Forest Park Nature Center in Illinois. The Facebook post states that the replica nest is housed at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.

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The Forest Park Nature Center explained that bald eagles can build much larger nests, and that the largest recorded nest “measured 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and weighed almost 6,000 pounds!”

That nest, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, was constructed by eagles in St. Petersburg, Fla. The lab’s “All About Birds” website states: “Another famous nest — in Vermilion, Ohio — was shaped like a wine glass and weighed almost two metric tons. It was used for 34 years until the tree blew down.”

Nests are typically built in the tallest conifers near their sturdy trunks. While both parents construct a nest, the female is said to perform most of the placement of branches, twigs, and soft materials.

Eaglets, after they fledge, generally spend about four years in “nomadic exploration of vast territories” and can fly hundreds of miles per day. Immature bald eagles born in California, for example, have traveled as far north as Alaska.

Man charged with 125 wildlife crimes says he ‘likes to do it’

A Michigan man who was charged with 125 crimes against wildlife—including 18 wolves and three bald eagles—faces fines and jail time.

A Michigan man who was charged with 125 crimes against wildlife—including 18 wolves and three bald eagles—told law enforcement detectives that he was catching the animals because he could and “likes to do it.”

Kurt Johnston Duncan, 56, of Pickford was arraigned Wednesday in Chippewa County’s 91st District Court on 125 wildlife misdemeanor charges stemming from an 18-month investigation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, the DNR announced.

Additional suspects are expected to be charged in the near future.

Duncan, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, faces jail, along with fines and restitution payments of $86,500 (based on the penalty structure) for killing the animals, the species of which included deer, turkey, bear and bobcat.

Specifically, he faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for each wolf and bald eagle, with restitution of $1,500 per eagle and $500 per wolf. He faces up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for each other the other wildlife crimes.

However, the Chippewa County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is only seeking $30,000 in restitution.

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Bald eagles are protected under state and federal law. Wolves are also protected in Michigan and are on the federal Endangered Species List.

“We had a team of conservation officers that worked well together throughout this investigation,” said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. “Investigations like this require a long-term commitment from everyone involved. I want to thank the prosecutors in this case who worked with our officers. We are happy with the outcome and hope this case sets an example to prevent future natural resource crimes.”

DNR served four search warrants to Duncan in March. Law enforcement detectives said Duncan was using the animals for a variety of reasons, including crafts, selling, or disposing of them.

Conservation officers have collected evidence to support the charges against Duncan and identify additional suspects. Duncan’s cash bond was set at $500 with the stipulation he was to have no contact with the co-defendants, possess no firearms or dangerous weapons, and not participate in fishing or hunting.

Photo showing a conservation officer investigating snares Duncan was charged with using illegally to capture the animals is courtesy of DNR. A captured bird can be seen in lower right. A snare can be seen in circle.

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