By Dorris Wood

Guest Columnist: Dorris Wood has lived in Yreka since 1949. She attended local schools and was employed by a number of local businesses. On January 1, 1998, Ms. Wood retired from the United States Forest Service. She has served as a member of the College of the Siskiyous Board of Trustees since 1983. This is part three of a three-part series.

In my two previous articles on volunteering, I discussed some of the activities I did while volunteering at Turntable Bay on Shasta Lake. One was helping to set up a camera in a bald eagle’s nest. In this article I will discuss this event. Today’s article will complete my three-part series.

Haliaeetus Leucocephalus. The American Bald Eagle. Found only in North America, and chosen as our national symbol in 1782. Weighing up to 14 pounds with a wingspan of 8 feet, it is the largest bird of prey in North America and can live 30 - 50 years. It is hard to see one of these birds at roost or in the air without feeling excitement and marveling at its majesty. In flight, the eagle holds its wings flat and does not hover. An adult, 5 or more years old, has the characteristic white head and tail with a dark brown body; immature eagles are dark brown all over with white mottling.

Feeding primarily on fish - one eats approximately two pounds per day - an eagle will take advantage of an easy meal such as injured waterfowl or carrion. It also will steel from other birds of prey such as the osprey (Pandion haliaetus). In fact, I witnessed two such occurrences on Shasta Lake last year. The eagles are tenacious and will work with others to attack the osprey until the osprey releases its catch whereupon the eagle has a tasty meal. One osprey dropped its fish practically at my feet early one morning after an aerial battle among the treetops amid much screeching and squalling. The second was over the water and two eagles chased the osprey until it dropped its fish, whereupon one eagle scooped it right up.

Bald eagles are a threatened species and are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The U.S. Forest Service is legally responsible to provide protection for eagles year-round. The breeding season lasts from January 1 through July 31 during which the eagles reconstruct their nest, court, mate, incubate eggs and raise young. They mate for life and return to the same nest year after year, adding new material to the old nest.

From a large population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to only 8 known nests in late 1960's, the bald eagle was nearing extinction. Governmental agency programs were instituted for the recovery of the eagles and statewide nests rose to 93 in 1990. Shasta Lake has 19 pair of resident eagles and the Forest Service Wildlife Biologists protect and monitor all sites to enhance reproductive success. However, the Shasta Lake eagles reproduction rates have declined in the last five years and it is hoped that increased knowledge, protective measures and public cooperation will improve production. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the effects of State Board of Reclamation's operations at Shasta Dam such as fluctuating water levels and recreational activities and prey availability have on nesting success. A remote camera monitoring system is used to provide detailed, continuous observations of bald eagle nests to determine prey delivery rate, prey species and biomass, and nesting behavior. So - on to my participation in setting up the camera in a vacant nest.

After the nest was vacated, the old camera and its accompanying equipment were removed, serviced and ready to be reinstalled. That's where I came in. As I told you, the Turntable Bay Station provides lake transportation for all departments, and this day we loaded up one of the patio boats with all of the gear, people and equipment. Two smoke jumpers from the Redding Smoke Jumpers, who are also certified Forest Service tree climbers, Jeff Wood, Biologist, my co-workers Troy Nichols and John Bucholz and myself headed for the nest. Those patio boats, by the way, are just wonderful little workhorses and well suited for this day's venture. Anyhow - we arrived and lugged all of this gear up the hill. The tree climbers' packs alone were incredible. The toss of a coin sent one up the tree and the other fed him equipment via a rope and monitored their safety. Jeff, Troy and John assembled and tested transmitting equipment. At this point, I watched, running back and forth from tree to ground equipment.

The remote camera monitoring system is relatively simple, consisting of a camera and transmitter, transmitting antenna, 12v battery and a solar panel system, which includes a light sensor, control box and solar panel. The solar panel maintains the battery charge based on the amount of ambient light detected by the sensor and controlled by the control box. Thus power is sent only during daylight hours and not during the night when the solar panels are inactive. The camera is mounted at nest level on an expandable frame designed and built by Troy. Cables are run down the tree, across the ground and into the battery box through camouflaged PVC pipe to protect the cable from animal damage. Line-of-sight from camera to receiving station is required which is one mile away.

The TV monitor and VCR recorder are installed in the Jones Valley Marina Store. Time-lapse recording is used on the VCR to extend the recording time of the tape, but nest activities can be seen by visitors in real-time when the store is open. If it is not on, just ask someone and they will be happy to turn it on.

So, once this was all installed, using the small monitor we carried with us, we watched the climber in the nest do his stuff and he adjusted the camera to Jeff's specifications to get optimum coverage. I can tell you, we had a 'bird's eye view' of this man crawling around in an eagle's nest, but everyone kept their own counsel in the joke department. The spirit of the day was quite jovial and it was an interesting and fun outing, but these people are very serious about what they do. They observed all safety rules, were careful of the wildlife, the forest, water, equipment and each other. Once everything was operating, we gathered up the spare parts and headed back to the patio boat for a happy ride back to the station across the afternoon waters of Shasta Lake. We unloaded, cleaned the boat, and finished the day with a satisfied smile, and a sense of well being. Another good day.

If you are interested in obtaining additional information about this and other projects, contact Jeff Wood at Shasta Lake District 530/275-1589.