Tracking BETA03

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gemini
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Tracking BETA03

Post by gemini » Mon Mar 08, 2021 5:21 am

Link to BETA03's Tracking Map

BETA03 was tagged and banded on November 26, 2020, at the Vancouver Landfill in Delta, BC. He appeared to be male based on measurements taken at the time of banding and that was confirmed with a blood test; his USFW band number is 0709-01998 and he has a more readable blue band on his left leg with the characters H over 3. BETA03's age at banding appeared to be about 8 months, so he likely hatched in the spring of 2020 (as did BETA04/Loki).

BAEA20-35 – BETA03
Banding Date: Nov 26, 2020
USFW Band #: 0709-01998 (right leg)
Banded Blue marker H over 3 on its left leg
Captured: Vancouver Landfill, Delta
Age: 8 months
Eye color: Dark brown
Sex: Male


March 9, 2023

We have photos of BETA03 from when he was banded!

Showing the coloring of the wing - he was about 8 months old then.
BETA03_20201126_094156.jpg

Sporting his new tracker:
BETA03_20201126_103113.jpg

And we'll let him have the last word! :mihihi:
BETA03_20201126_103057_cropped.jpg
Image


Member since: 7/31/2006

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JudyB
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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:09 pm

Summary of Travels (last updated January 10, 2022)
  • BETA03 received his tracker as a first-year eagle on November 26 2020 at the Vancouver Landfill in Delta, BC
  • Stayed near the Landfill for about 3 months, then headed north on February 24, 2021
  • Backtracked a bit on the 25th, then headed north again arriving near Sechelt on February 26
  • Explored the area between Sechelt and a little north of Campbell River until April 19, mostly along the water but occasionally venturing inland
  • Continued to be based in that general area until June 3, with some longer side trips, going north to the Homathko River - Tatlayoko Protected area from April 20-22, then down to Stuart Island, and down towards the area he'd been spending most of his time, between Sechelt and Manson's Landing (across from Campbell River); on May 14 he headed up past Squamish, then past Whistler and out to Gold Bridge on May 15, returning to Squamish on/by the 16th, then back to the area where he was spending the most time, where he stayed until heading north on June 3rd or 4th.
  • He did quite a bit of exploring from June 3 to June 25, and unlike many of the other eagles, he didn't go up the coast but headed inland. He flew from Stewart Island (a bit above Campbell River) to Burns Lake in two days (June 4 & 5), a distance of about 429 km or 266 miles - wow! Then he spent about a week (June 6-13) along the Buckley River, a bit east of Houston. By the 17th he was getting close to Port Edward and Prince Rupert, and he stayed in that area through June 25, then headed north.
  • He at the Mt Edziza Provincial Park on June 28, and explored that area until July 11, spending time at Kakiddi Lake.
  • He then headed northwest towards Kaketsa mountain, then turned north and headed up to the Inklin River, where he spent July 13 and 14, and then made another long flight south, checking in from the Stikine River on the 15th (I am so amazed at how far and fast these eagles can fly!); he was there for a couple of days, then continued south, crossing into Alaska on the 18th, and ending up on Mitkof Island on July 21st.
  • He explored Mitkof Island until early August, then headed north, visiting neighboring Kupreanof Island, crossing Frederick Sound around August 11, and spending a few days around Farragut Bay; he then headed northwest and spent time on the coast along Port Houghton, before heading down the coast and crossing back to Mitkof Island around October 1. The data points were sketchy for much of September and October, possibly because there was less sun or because there were so few towers.
  • On October 17 he checked in from near Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, and the tracker shows that he was getting close to Powell River 24 hours later; that's a distance of about 862 kilometers or 536 miles, which is a lot further than I'd expect an eagle to fly in a day. (BETA04/Loki flew 448 kilometers/279 miles mostly in one day when he decided it was time to head north - and that seemed above average; 200 km/125 miles in a day is mentioned as not uncommon on several sites.) He seemed to be in the same place from October 18 - 28, so I'm guessing he was in transit part of that time, and by the time he reached a cell tower and uploaded data, some of it was missing. But we do know he was heading south during that period, and it was October 30th when he checked in and provided the data from the days he'd been off the radar, and he was near Sliammon then, a bit closer to Powell River
  • BETA03 stayed in Sliammon through November 18, with a few little excursions; there's a salmon hatchery on a creek there which might have been of interest to him.
  • By November 20, he had moved south of Powell River to Nelson Island, and by the 23rd he was at the Sechelt Landfill, which he had visited in the past.
  • He began moving south again on December 6th, and reached the Delta Landfill on December 8th. He's made a few excursions south to Point Roberts and to Patos and Sucia Islands, and a quick visit to White Rock, but as of January 9, 2022, he's still based at the landfill.
This picture shows BETA03's travels from November 2020 through December 2021; it clicks bigger:

20220101_015.jpg

(continued in the next post)

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:11 pm

Summary of Travels - part 2 (last updated January 21, 2023)
  • BETA03 left the area near the Vancouver Landfill in Delta on January 21, 2022, and headed up the coast towards Sechelt; he spent some time there, then further up the coast to Sliammon, then back to the Sechelt landfill by February 1st
  • He was back in Delta near the landfill by February 6, and was generally spending time there, Sechelt, Sliammon, and the places in between in February.
  • He headed inland toward Squamish on March 6, ending up near Alice Lake Provincial Park north of Brackendale for a couple of weeks, then around March 25, he headed back to the coast, visiting islands offshore from Powell River.
    After that, he returned to the Squamish landfill on April 1st, then back to Sechelt on the coast, then up the coast to Powell River, then back to Squamish on April 6; Powell River to Squamish is about 100km/62 miles - I have to note that this 2-year-old eagle has lots of energy!
  • BETA03 stayed in Squamish for a few days, then went back to the coast near Sechelt on April 11 and up to Powell River the next day; he stayed in that general area until May 9, when he headed back to Squamish then continued inland to Pemberton on May 11, staying in that area for a couple of days before heading back to the coast on May 14.
  • He stayed mostly in the general area around Powell River until July 3 when he went to the Sechelt area for about a week before heading back to Powell River, where he stayed until July 21.
  • On July 22 he headed further up the coast towards Stuart Island and explored some of the islands up that way, returning to Powell River on July 29.
  • He went back up to Stuart Island on July 31, then up to Phillips Arm on August 3rd, which I think from the lines is a place he had not explored before; he stayed there until August 10, then continued up the coast, going past Kitamaat Village on August 25, and making his way up to the Skeena River on September 2nd.
  • It looks as if he turned up the Skeena River, then turned off onto the Lakelse River; he was in that area from September 6 through October 23rd (Lynne's great coverage of his explorations there begin here - viewtopic.php?f=95&t=549&start=90#p606087 - and notes that other tagged eagles are here, suggesting this may be a good place to go for salmon)
  • From October 24 to November 6, BETA03 seemed to be leisurely heading south, possibly checking some other little rivers on the way - and then he made a long flight (maybe 80 km) to Bella Bella on the 7th, then another long flight almost to Stuart Island on the 8th (100 km?). He stopped in Heydon Bay for a little over a week, then over to Cortes Island on the 18th; the next day he was back near Sliammon where he stayed until December 15
  • He took a quick trip over to Courtenay and possibly other spots on Vancouver Island December 16-17; he headed back to the mainland and then headed south, arriving back in Delta on December 22nd.
  • He stayed near the landfill until January 19, 2023, then headed up the coast to the area around Beaver Island, which is where he is as of this update.
This map shows BETA03's travels in 2022; if you compare it to the map in the previous post, you'll see that he traveled quite a bit further north in his first year of travels, while this year he explored the area near Terrace and Kitimat, spending time on the Skeena and Lakelse Rivers, and also spent a lot of time at places that he apparently found welcoming last year.

20230122_BETA03_001.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:09 am

Reserved

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:51 am

April 18, 2021

Here's an overview of BETA03's travels over the past 5 months.
20210418_009.jpg

I can't help comparing this to BETA04/Loki's travels since they are about the same age - but then realized that we don't know where BETA03 started. By late October Loki had been up to Alaska where she spent a couple of months, and was back in BC and settling in near Jackson Bay, where she stayed until November 23-24, when she went across to Vancouver Island and stayed towards the upper end of the island for almost a month before heading down the coast of the island.

So it's possible that BETA03 had already done quite a bit of exploring before settling near the landfill in Delta for the winter, where David and Myles tagged him.


Getting back to BETA03, It looks as if after being banded on November 26, he stayed in the general area of the Vancouver Landfill in Delta for about 3 months, then headed north on February 24, 2021 (the salmon colored dot shows where he was when data was uploaded that day).
20210418_011.jpg

Humanizing a bit, he may have had second thoughts, because he did head partway back the next day.
20210418_012.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:50 am

Continuing....

But he decided to go for it, and the next day, February 26, he was near Sechelt.
20210418_013.jpg

It looks as if he's using that area as a base while exploring the region. As a reminder, if you click the map icon at the top of the map, it opens up - and then if you click a date, it shows where the eagle was that day. I'm going to click a few dates to see where he was.

March 6:
20210418_014.jpg

March 10:
20210418_016.jpg

March 11 - back to Sechelt.
20210418_015.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:32 am

Continuing....

Clicking through the calendar day by day, he stayed there through March 26, then went up to that little inlet March 27 and 28
20210418_017.jpg

Further up on March 30
20210418_018.jpg

And back to this "corner" where he had been before on March 31st.
20210418_019.jpg

The eagles don't necessarily fly in straight lines - the mapping program draws the lines between where the eagle is when the location is recorded to the tracker and subsequently uploaded - so we may miss some little side excursions.

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:39 am

Continuing....

BETA03 stayed there through April 4, and then went inland:
20210418_020.jpg

He spent a couple of days at that little inlet.
20210418_021.jpg

Then made his way out to a little island on the 11th (with stops along the way - if you know the area at all, you might enjoy clicking the map and seeing more about the places he visited).
20210418_022.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:43 am

Continuing....

He was back to Sechelt on the 12th, stayed there a couple of days, then up near Madeira Park on the 16th.
20210418_023.jpg

And here's where he was when he uploaded data last night, on April 17.
20210418_024.jpg

Here's the same map in Satellite View with Labels turned on
20210418_025.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:51 am

And finally, here's a closer look at the area where he's been spending much of his time recently.
20210418_026.jpg
20210418_027.jpg

Nelson Island
20210418_028.jpg

And the place he seems to be spending lots of time near Sechelt (maybe a landfill?)
20210418_029.jpg

He has been a busy young eagle!

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by Lynne » Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:43 pm

JudyB wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:51 am
April 18, 2021

Here's an overview of BETA03's travels over the past 5 months.

20210418_009.jpg


I can't help comparing this to BETA04/Loki's travels since they are about the same age - but then realized that we don't know where BETA03 started. By late October Loki had been up to Alaska where she spent a couple of months, and was back in BC and settling in near Jackson Bay, where she stayed until November 23-24, when she went across to Vancouver Island and stayed towards the upper end of the island for almost a month before heading down the coast of the island.

So it's possible that BETA03 had already done quite a bit of exploring before settling near the landfill in Delta for the winter, where David and Myles tagged him.


Getting back to BETA03, It looks as if after being banded on November 26, he stayed in the general area of the Vancouver Landfill in Delta for about 3 months, then headed north on February 24, 2021 (the salmon colored dot shows where he was when data was uploaded that day).

20210418_011.jpg


Humanizing a bit, he may have had second thoughts, because he did head partway back the next day.

20210418_012.jpg
Thank you Judy! His travels do appear different compared to Loki's. Interesting to compare them at about the same age.

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Fri Oct 01, 2021 3:06 pm

October 1 2021

I have a note that we heard from BETA03 on August 9 but did not take a screenshot then, so we have quite a bit of catching up to do. Here's the overview of his travels to date - he's now in Alaska!
20211001_006.jpg

I'm going to start by reposting the map from April 18, showing where he'd been at that point.

Image


This map is of the same general area, showing his travels before he headed further north on June 3rd.
20211001_007.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:23 pm

Continuing with a bit more detail about the side trips from April 18 - June 3

This is zoomed in a bit so more town names are visible, and clicks quite a bit larger.
20211001_009.jpg

Here's a quick video showing his route - the dot show shows his location each day as I click the date on the calendar (low-tech, but it works).

:vid: BETA03 Explores BC (April 18 - June 3; 1 minute, 40 seconds)


He went up north to the Homathko River - Tatlayoko Protected area from April 20-22,
20211001_011.jpg

Then down to Stuart Island, and down towards the area he'd been spending most of his time, between Sechelt and Manson's Landing (across from Campbell River).

On May 14 he headed up past Squamish, then past Whistler and out to Gold Bridge on May 15.
20211001_013.jpg

By the 16th he was back in Squamish, and then back to the area where he was spending the most time, where he stayed until heading north on June 3rd or 4th.

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:29 pm

The next section is from June 3 to June 25, when he was doing quite a bit of exploring. Unlike many of the other eagles, he didn't go up the coast but headed inland.
20211001_014.jpg

:vid: BETA03 Heads Inland (June 3 - June 25; 43 seconds)


I'm noticing how far he flew in two days, from Stewart Island (a bit above Campbell River) to Burns Lake, a distance of about 429 km or 266 miles - wow!

That was June 4 and 5, and then he spent about a week (June 6-13) along the Buckley River, a bit east of Houston.
20211001_016.jpg

By the 17th he was getting close to Port Edward and Prince Rupert, and he stayed in that area through June 25, then headed north.
20211001_017.jpg

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Re: Tracking BETA03

Post by JudyB » Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:34 pm

Here's the over view, from June 26 to September 30.
20211001_018.jpg

I apologize, but it's getting late - and I'm not going to be online a lot for the next few days - but I am intrigued by all the areas where he is exploring and hope we can look at them in more detail at some point. I'll save a couple of reserved posts because I don't know that 3 months of exploration will fit in one post.

Good night, everyone.


PS - if someone else would like to report on this part of his journey - or would like to report on where he goes next - that would be wonderful! :)
~~~~~

Added October 16 - continuing the story.

BETA03 was in Prince Rupert on June 25, then headed North and turned a bit west, arriving at the Mt Edziza Provincial Park on June 28.
20211016_006-BETA03.jpg

He explored that area until July 11 - here's a closer look, showing that he was spending time at Kakiddi Lake.
20211016_007.jpg

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