A monitoring project to understand the breeding habits of the ACT’s vulnerable Little Eagles has found them to be successfully breeding and migrating across Australia.
Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Mick Gentleman said the monitoring project was improving understanding of the birds and confirmed they were continuing to breed in the Canberra area.
“Little Eagles are listed as vulnerable in the ACT and NSW,” Mr Gentleman said.
“Thirteen nesting pairs were monitored this past breeding season, nine in the ACT and four in nearby NSW,” he said.
“Eight chicks were successfully raised, compared to five last year, with five in the ACT and three in NSW.”
He said the joint research project was being undertaken by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, Ginninderry Joint Venture, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and researchers from the Australian National University.
“This helps us better manage species within the ACT and points out a need for a national approach to caring for native animals,” Mr Gentleman said.
ACT Conservator, Ian Walker said the movements of Little Eagles were monitored by attaching small satellite GPS backpacks to four of the breeding males.
“Data showed that during the breeding season, all four mostly stayed within a few kilometres of the nest site, and all took occasional flights more than 10 kilometres, with one travelling over 40 kilometres out and back from its nest area,” Mr Walker said.
“These movements were consistent with that of a tracked male which nested in West Belconnen in two previous years, who had a foraging range of around 65 square kilometres.”
He said a GPS backpack was also attached to a fledgling female chick reared on Black Mountain in the spring of 2017.
The GPS recorded an incredible journey that spanned from north of Bundaberg in Queensland, back south past the ACT into Victoria, then as far west as Port Pirie in South Australia and across to the East Gippsland region in Victoria where she was most recently recorded.
