Winter Breeding and Summer Nonbreeding Home Ranges of Bald Eagles from Louisiana

Abstract

Abstract Home range size, location, and movements between home ranges may differ markedly within species. Some populations of Bald Eagles breed in summer and move south in winter, whereas others breed in winter and move north in summer, while even others stay in the same area all year. We studied winter breeding and summer nonbreeding home range sizes and locations for 10 Bald Eagles (five adults, three subadults, and two subadults that became adults) captured in Louisiana and tracked with GPS satellite transmitters. Individuals were tracked from 2012–2014, during which, all spent the winter breeding season in Louisiana and all migrated north to Canada for at least one summer nonbreeding season. Most held clearly defined home ranges, which varied from 19.7–2368.3 km2, with no significant difference between adults and subadults, winter breeding and summer nonbreeding ranges, year, or their interactions. All nesting home ranges were less than 66 km2 and, on average, nonnesting home rages were 730.3 ± 183.4 ...