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Survey shows plentiful data for Hoosier bald eagle population
Hanging out of a helicopter as the pilot flies a twisting and turning path of an Indiana river, I know must be a real thrill. As a helicopter crew chief in the military, my first “open door” experience left me hanging on to something really strong and peaking over the edge. Indiana biologists use the helicopter method to get an accurate count each year on the number of nesting bald eagles in the state.  The count conducted in early April brought good news as the number of nests and their locations rebounded to a new record.
In the aerial count, a state-record 119 nests were considered to be occupied by eagle pairs, based on the presence of eagles observed or reported this year or on the condition of the nest indicating recent attendance.

The 119 territories observed compares to the previous record 101 territories found in 2008 and 94 in 2009. Eight additional nesting sites were considered unoccupied due to the poor condition of the nest.

For most of the 20th century, bald eagles were absent as a nesting species in Indiana. The first recent nesting attempt was noted in 1989, and the first successful nests were observed in 1991. A total of 73 young eagles were released in Indiana from1985-89, to reestablish a breeding population.

With the success of the reintroduction program, bald eagles were removed from the Federal Endangered Species list in 2007 and the Indiana list in 2008. They are now considered as a Species of Special Concern in Indiana.

The DNR checked 146 sites for bald eagle nests, including one nest in Kentucky and two in Illinois along the Indiana border. Information about three additional Hoosier nests from reliable sources was included in the DNR survey. All results refer to Indiana nests.

A record total of 97 of the nests checked were considered “active nests” in which eggs were laid. The previous records of 90 came in 2008 and 2009. Bald eagles lay eggs from late January to early April. Some nesting territories may be active for decades, although some bald eagles may build and use more than one nest.
“The numbers of active nests are likely underestimated because some nestings may have failed before the nests were checked,” said John Castrale, DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife non-game bird biologist.

Bald eagle nests were found by a survey in Allen, Adams, and Shelby counties for the first time ever, and found present in 50 Indiana counties overall. Eagle nests are most concentrated in southern and west-central Indiana, and along the Wabash River in central Indiana. Most nests are along the Wabash, White, and Ohio rivers, although some relatively small streams support eagle pairs. The most nests associated with a lake or impoundment is six at Patoka Lake. 

In another first for the Indiana survey, Castrale said a bald eagle pair built a nest on something other than a tree.  Would you believe a wooden electrical tower in Sullivan County? Some other notable findings of the 2010 survey include:

•19 of the found nest sites had not been known about previously and were brought to DNR’s attention by bird watchers and the general public.

•10 nests reported to DNR could not be found; most were in territories abandoned by the birds or the nest trees had fallen.

•Canada geese were using eagle nests in two instances.

•Four reported nests were found to be red-tailed hawk nests and one was a great blue heron nest.

•120 adult eagles were observed at or near 97 Indiana nests.
Restoration and monitoring of bald eagles in Indiana is funded by donations from the DNR’s Nongame Fund and federal state wildlife grants. To donate to the DNR Nongame Fund, download and complete the donation form, print it and send with check or money order to Nongame Fund, 402 W. Washington St. Rm. W273, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Fishing tournament
On Saturday, April 24 Crappie USA held a qualifying crappie tournament at the Cutright Ramp on Indiana’s Lake Monroe. Crappie fishermen were competing for not only cash and prizes, but a chance to advance to the prestigious Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic to be held this fall on the Pickwick/Wilson Lakes in Alabama. Teams were only allowed to weigh-in their top seven fish.
In the semi-pro division:

Taking first place was the team of Michael Walters, of West Milton, Ohio and Richard Solomon, of Piqua, Ohio with a total weight of 13.07 pounds for their top seven fish, earning them a check for $1,000. The team fished the Pine Grove area slow trolling in five feet of water using chartreuse/orange/chartreuse Southern Pro jigs and live bait rigs and picking up fish holding tight on wood structure. The team caught over 70 fish for the day.

Second place went to Robert Raymer of Greenfield, Ind. and Jim Raymer of Noblesville, Ind. weighing in at 10.89 pounds and earning them $600. Robert and Jim were also fishing Pine Grove area vertical jigging brush and stumps in six to eight feet of water. The team caught over 100 fish for the day.

In third place, the Anderson, Ind., team of Myron Etchison and Randy Marsh with a weight of 10.65 pounds and earning $400. Etchison and Marsh were spider rigging points in the Middlefork area in nine feet of water with their bigger fish suspended three feet deep on lay-downs, also three feet deep in nine feet of water next to creek channels and caught 40 fish for the day.

Doug Laake, of Ferdinand, Ind. and Ryan Rohl of Birdseye, Ind. took fourth place with a weight of 8.85 pounds.

Fifth place went to Brian Cleland of Decatur, Ill., and Duffy Cleland of Tuscola, Ill., with a total weight of 7.43 pounds. 
In the amateur division:

First place in the amateur division was the team of Tony Sherrill of North Vernon, Ind., and Fred Willis of Norman, Ind., with a weight of 10.29 pounds and earning $750. Sherrill and Willis were fishing Middlefork and Pine Grove area in six to nine feet of water using yellow/chartreuse jigs with shiners under a slip float. Allowing the bait to drop in brush where the fish were holding tight, the team caught a total of 75 crappie for the day.

Second place went to the Bloomington, Ind., team of Joe McWhorter and William Egan weighing in 9.55 pounds and earning $500. McWhorter and Egan were fishing Middlefork and Pine Grove area vertical jigging wood structure with Power Grubs in five to six feet of water. Their fish were holding tight and deep in structure. The team caught around 200 fish for the day.

Taking third place was Paul Hildreth of Muncie, Ind., and Charlie Hildreth of Easton, Ind., with 9.5 pounds and earning $300. Paul and Charlie were fishing the Pine Grove area vertical jigging and slow trolling in two to seven feet of water using two-inch purple/chartreuse Southern Pro jigs catching around 40 fish for the day.

In fourth was the team of Jeff Yeakle of Jonesboro, Ind., and Jonathan Brumley of Marion, Ind., with 9.3 pounds and earning $200. Yeakle and Brumley were fishing the Middlefork area vertical jigging lay-downs in five feet of water using black/chartreuse and orange/chartreuse Southern Pro tubes. The team caught 50 fish for the day.

Fifth place went to the team of Glenn Gill and Thomas Hankins of Indianapolis, Ind., weighing in 8.34 pounds and earning $150. Gill and Hankins were fishing Pine Grove slow trolling blue/chartreuse Southern Pro tubes in five to six feet of water. The team caught nearly 100 crappie for the day.
5/13/2010