Assessment of band recoveries for three Australian eagle species

Abstract

Band recoveries to 2012 were analysed for the White-bellied Sea-Eagle 'Haliaeetus leucogaster' (n = 11, recovery rate = 6%), Wedge-tailed Eagle 'Aquila audax' (n = 55, recovery rate = 7%) and Little Eagle 'Hieraaetus morphnoides' (n = 30, recovery rate = 9%) in Australia (for Wedge-tailed Eagle eastern Australia only). Juvenile/immature Sea-Eagles (n = 8) were recovered within 3.5 years (0-41 months, mean 13 months), 0-1824 kilometres (mean 268 km) from the banding site. Adults (n = 3) were recovered at the banding site; one notable lifespan was 19+ years. Of 60 Sea-Eagles wing-tagged in the coastal Northern Territory, 1978-1994, four (recovery rate = 7%) were juveniles recovered/resighted within 1-4 years, 30-90 kilometres from the banding site, whereas territorial adults were resighted on their territories over the ensuing year. Juvenile/immature Wedge-tailed Eagles (n = 55) were recovered 0-821 kilometres from the banding site (mean 130 km, 95% within 300 km), 1-72 months later (mean 11 months); one banded on Kangaroo Island was recovered on the adjacent mainland (13+ km across sea). Little Eagles (mostly aged as 'first year or older' and unsexed) were recovered 0-2884 kilometres from the banding site (mean 219 km, 80% within 200 km), 1-311 months later (mean 60 months); notable lifespans were of 19-26 years, but average lifespan may be approximately five years in the sheep-wheat belt. Human-related mortalities, either deliberate (persecution) or accidental (e.g. collisions, interactions with infrastructure), formed a large proportion of the reported public recoveries of each species.