Eagle Tracking

August 2, 2011

From 2011-2022, the Wildlife Center tracked the post-release movements of nearly two dozen former eagle patients. In most cases, these GPS transmitters were provided by the state eagle biologist, and the data on the birds were a part of a larger, ongoing research study that monitors eagle movements to determine the range and behavior of eagles in Virginia’s coastal plain. For the Center, this was an invaluable opportunity to track the movements of some of our rehabilitated patients.

Center staff and followers tracked many of these eagles for months. In some cases, the transmitters appeared to have failed after a period of time; in three cases, the eagles died several months post-release. The eagle that was tracked for the longest period of time was NX, one of the Norfolk “Rock Star” eagles; followers were able to track her movements for five years!