winfer feeding 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY RUDY STOCEK 
     
    
   
   
    
     Feeding birds during the winter is a 
     
     beneficial activity pursued by many nature 
     
     enthusiasts in the Maritimes. It is only re— 
     
     cently though that providing winter food for 
     
    

    
     m. Bald Eagles has attracted at- 
     
     tention. 
     
    

    
     New Brunswick has a small 
     
     population of wintering eagles, 
     
     about two dozen, that spend 
     
    

    
     most of that season at the 
     
     southern reaches of the pro- 
     
     _A Vince, along the coast and 
     
     . .river estuaries. Distribution of 
     
     ‘”'the birds depends upon their food 
     
     A supply which is influenced by ice 
     
     conditions and hence, the weather. 
     
     “’ Eagles are typically opportunistic 
     
     feeders and can be drawn to an area by 
     
     w? : « ‘ I v a steady supply of food. They survive 
     
     the winter on dead or live animal matter be it fish, fowl or flesh. Farm 
     
     offal, such as livestock carcasses, readily attract these birds who us- 
     
     ually continue to return to a feeding site. 
     
    

    
     Bald eagles take about five years to attain adult plumage although 
     
     they can be sexually mature before that time. Prior to this they are con- 
     
     sidered immatures or sub-adults. It is at this stage of their life cycle 
     
     that they are most vulnerable to winter mortality. Starvation and malnu— 
     
     trition during the cold, snowy winter months create major hazards for 
     
     the young birds since they generally are not as adept at foraging as the 
     
     adults because of their lack of experience. Additionally, more aggressive 
     
     adults may supplant immatures at foraging sites. It has been suggested by 
     
     studies on the northern eagle populations that only one out of every 10 
     
     immatures (10%) survives to reach adulthood. Computer modelling has demon- 
     
     strated that the survival of the immatures is even more important in in- 
     
     creasing eagle abundance than is the annual production of a large number 
     
     of eaglets. Whatever can be done to increase the survival of the immature 
     
     birds will be beneficial in maintaining a healthy and expanding Bald Eagle 
     
     population. 
     
    

    
     Winter feeding for eagles has been occurring on a small scale in the 
     
     Maritimes, especially in Nova Scotia for a number of years and more re- 
     
     cently in Maine. This has not always been by design, however. Farmers 
     
     throughout the region who normally disposed of carcasses in their fields 
     
     during the winter months found that not only were ravens and crows inter- 
     
     ested in the food source, but so were Bald Eagles. Certain areas in Nova 
     
     Scotia have been used as eagle winter feeding areas by biologists study— 
     
     ing eagle behavior and age characteristics. Those areas have attracted 
     
     considerable numbers of birds, especially immatures. 
     
    

    
     Maine's winter feeding program started in 1981 at three sites: at