Mojica, Elizabeth K.

Watts, B. D.

English

College of William & Mary: W&M Publish

W&M ScholarWorks CCB Technical Reports Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) 2010 Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD B. D. Watts The Center for Conservation Biology, bdwatt@wm.edu Elizabeth K. Mojica The Center for Conservation Biology, lmojica@edmlink.com Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/ccb_reports Recommended Citation Watts, B.D. and E.K. Mojica. 2010. Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD. CCBTR-10-07. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. 3 pp. This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in CCB Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu. Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD   2010 Monitoring Report for Federal Fish and Wildlife  Eagle Scientific Collecting Permit MB207511‐1   August 31, 2010    Bryan D. Watts, PhD Elizabeth K. Mojica Center for Conservation Biology College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University      Recommended Citation: Watts, B.D. and E.K. Mojica. 2010.  Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series, CCBTR-10-07.  College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University, Williamsburg, VA.  3 pp.     The Center for Conservation Biology is an organization dedicated to discovering innovative solutions to environmental problems that are both scientifically sound and practical within today’s social context.  Our philosophy has been to use a general  systems approach to locate critical information needs and to plot a deliberate course of action to reach what we believe are essential information endpoints.    2  Background Under Migratory Bird permit MB207511‐1, a Bald Eagle nest was removed in the non‐breeding season (10/9/2009) from the construction site of a new reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP), in Calvert County, Maryland.  Methods CCNPP and surrounding properties were monitored by two observers in a 172 Cessna plane flying approximately 200‐500’ above the nest. Presence of adult eagles, nest contents, and condition of each nest structure were recorded.    Figure 1. Bald Eagle nests monitored during the 2010 breeding season.   3  Results We monitored 4 eagle nesting territories on CCNPP for breeding attempts (Table 1).  Only one nest on CCNPP successfully raised young in 2010 (South nest). Two territories were documented incubating but later failed for unknown reasons (North and West nests).  The territory at Camp Conoy remained empty during the breeding season and no nesting attempts were documented.   Two nests on surrounding public lands were active during the 2010 breeding season.  One nest just north of CCNPP on Flag Ponds Park was documented incubating but later failed for unknown reasons. A new territory was established southeast of the South nest in Calvert Cliffs State Park. We speculate the eagle pair from Camp Conoy could have moved south one territory since no activity was documented within Camp Conoy and this nest on the State Park was newly built.   The western shore of Maryland received multiple snow storms during the eagle breeding season this year. These storms produced high winds and 2‐3’ of snow. These weather conditions may have disrupted the active eagle nests in this area and caused nest failures. It is unknown if severe winter weather contributed to the failure of nests monitored in this study.  Table 1. Aerial flight observations for Bald Eagle nests surveyed on Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and surrounding properties. Nest 1/18/2010 2/15/2010 3/16/2010 5/26/2010 North Nest Fresh grass lining in nest.   Incubating adult on nest Incubating adult on nest Nest empty, failed West Nest New sticks in nest. 1 adult perched on nest tree Nest lining fresh Incubating, 2 adults present Nest empty, failed South Nest Fresh grass lining in nest. 2 adults perched nearby. Snow in nest No eggs, 2 adults standing in nest 2 chicks (27 days old) and 1 adult in nest Flag Ponds Park Fresh grass lining in nest.   Nest lining fresh Incubating, 2 adults present Nest empty, failed Calvert Cliffs State Park  Nest not present on survey Nest lining fresh but not final Incubating adult on nest Nest empty- partially blown out of tree Camp Conoy New nest not found. 1 adult present on  nearby shoreline No activity in territory No activity in territory No activity in territory  Future Monitoring Aerial surveys are planned for December 2010 – May 2011 for the next eagle breeding season.   

Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD: 2010 Report

W&M ScholarWorks CCB Technical Reports Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) 2011 Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD Elizabeth K. Mojica The Center for Conservation Biology, lmojica@edmlink.com B. D. Watts The Center for Conservation Biology, bdwatt@wm.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/ccb_reports Recommended Citation Mojica, E.K. and B.D. Watts. 2011. Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD. CCBTR-11-18. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. 3 pp. This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in CCB Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu. Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD   2011 Monitoring Report for Federal Fish and Wildlife  Eagle Scientific Collecting Permit MB207511-1   August 31, 2011   Elizabeth K. Mojica Bryan D. Watts, PhD Center for Conservation Biology College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University      Recommended Citation: Mojica, E.K. and B.D. Watts. 2011.  Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series, CCBTR-11-18.  College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University, Williamsburg, VA.  3 pp.     The Center for Conservation Biology is an organization dedicated to discovering innovative solutions to environmental problems that are both scientifically sound and practical within today’s social context.  Our philosophy has been to use a general  systems approach to locate critical information needs and to plot a deliberate course of action to reach what we believe are essential information endpoints.   2  Background Under Migratory Bird permit MB207511-1, a Bald Eagle nest was removed in the non-breeding season (10/9/2009) from the construction site of a new reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP), in Calvert County, Maryland.  Methods For the third year in a row, CCNPP and surrounding properties were monitored by two observers in a 172 Cessna plane flying approximately 200‐500’ above the nest. Presence of adult eagles, nest contents, and condition of each nest structure were recorded.    Figure 1. Bald Eagle nests monitored during the 2011 breeding season.   Results We monitored 4 eagle nesting territories on CCNPP for breeding attempts (Table 1).  Two nesting territories on CCNPP successfully raised young in 2011 (West and North nests). The pair in the South nesting territory built a new nest on the 3  shoreline and but did not attempt to breed.  The territory at Camp Conoy remained empty during the breeding season and no nesting attempts were documented.   Two nests on surrounding public lands were active during the 2011 breeding season.  The territory north of CCNPP on Flag Ponds Park had a new nest this year NW of the 2010 nest and raised 2 young.   The nest on Calvert Cliffs State Park just south of the CCNPP boundary fledged 1 chick in 2011. Last year, we speculated the eagle pair from Camp Conoy moved to the state park since this territory appeared shortly after the nest at Camp Conoy was destroyed.   Table 1. Aerial flight observations for Bald Eagle nests surveyed on Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and surrounding properties. Location 12/17/2010 1/22/2011 3/13/2011 4/24/2011 North Nest snow in nest, no adults fresh nest lining adult incubating adult brooding 1 chick 40 days old West Nest fresh nest lining, 1 adult perched on nest 2 adults on nest, nest lining intact adult with > 1 chick, 2 weeks old 2 chicks 50 days old South Nest 2 adults perched on shoreline, snow in nest 1 adult on shoreline, fresh nest lining new nest found, fresh nest lining but nest empty nest empty Camp Conoy no nest found No activity in territory No activity in territory No activity in territory Flag Ponds Park fresh lining in nest fresh nest lining adult incubating, 2nd adult perched nearby 2 chicks 40 days old, 1 adlt in nest Calvert Cliffs State Park  fresh sticks in nest, minimal snow in nest fresh nest lining adult incubating, 2nd adult perched nearby 1 chick 35 days old, 1 adult in nest  Future Monitoring Aerial surveys are planned for December 2011 – May 2012 for the next eagle breeding season.   

Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD: 2011 Report

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Monitoring Report for Bald Eagles at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, MD: 2011 Report

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College of William & Mary: W&M Publish

College of William & Mary: W&M Publish