Number viewing Game Commission’s live stream expected to soar as eggs near likely hatch dates.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s bald eagle cam already has attracted nearly 643,000 viewers, many of whom faithfully have followed the daily happenings at the nest near Codorus State Park in Hanover, Pa.

But in the coming days, those looking in on the live stream, available at the Game Commission’s website, might well get to see a great miracle of nature.

Egg watch officially is underway.  To view the eagle cam, visit the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us Read more

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Researchers recently captured a golden eagle in the Bernheim Forest in Bullitt and Nelson counties and fitted it with a tracking device as part of an ongoing research project. Golden eagles are seldom seen in Kentucky.

“Bernheim Forest has a few golden eagles that come back every winter and is one of the more reliable places in the state to see golden eagles,” said Kate Heyden, avian biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “They don’t nest in Kentucky, but spend winters here. Golden eagles that winter here probably nest in Canada.” Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced the results of its 2015 moose population survey in the western moose range of the Upper Peninsula, an important tool in managing the species.

The 2015 population estimate in the western U.P. is 323, compared to an estimate of 451 in 2013. From 1997 to 2007, surveys of prime moose habitat in Baraga, Iron and Marquette counties suggested the U.P.’s moose population was growing at a modest rate of about 10 percent per year. From 2009 to 2013, survey results showed an apparent change in that trend, with the growth rate slowing to about 2 percent per year.

“There is inherent uncertainty with any population survey, and due to the fact that the 2013 and 2015 estimates have some overlap in confidence intervals, the potential remains that the state’s moose population has remained steady rather than declining,” said Chad Stewart, deer, elk and moose management specialist for the DNR. “However, coupled with survey records that show a decrease in the number of moose calves seen with cows this year, it’s quite possible that we’re looking at a considerable drop in numbers.”

Future surveys will be needed to identify any long-term trend for Michigan’s moose population. Other states and provinces have reported declines in moose populations near the southern edge of North America’s moose range, yet other populations are holding steady or increasing. Researchers in Michigan have hypothesized several potential causes for a possible decline of moose numbers in Michigan. Among potential factors: Read more

Today’s feature first appeared in this week’s edition of our companion service, The Birding Wire (www.birdingwire.com).

UC Berkeley researcher Erica Newman, pictured in front of chaparral, where she studies bird communities. Chaparral biodiversity, including bird communities, is largely understudied because of the difficulty of detecting wildlife in dense shrub habitats. Image Credit: David Hembry

Birds are more important than previously recognized as hosts for Lyme disease-causing bacteria, according to a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is responsible for Lyme disease, was known to be carried by white-footed mice, wood rats, western gray squirrels, and other small mammals, but fewer studies have looked at the role of birds as reservoirs.

“The role of birds in the maintenance of Lyme disease bacteria in California is poorly understood,” said lead author Erica Newman, a UC Berkeley PhD student. “This is the most extensive study of the role of birds in Lyme disease ecology in the western United States, and the first to consider the diversity of bird species, their behaviors, and their habitats in identifying which birds are truly the most important as carriers.”

Moreover, the birds in the study that were found to be important hosts of Lyme disease bacteria — such as American robins, dark-eyed juncos and golden-crowned sparrows — are coincidentally ones that are commonly found in suburban environments.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States. There are approximately 300,000 cases each year, with the large majority occurring in the eastern United States. Read more