Banded Bald Eagle+

March 26, 2020

Question: I have been photographing a pair of bald eagles near Perris for about six months, including the banded eagle in the attached photo. Can you tell me anything about the eagle? From what I can gather the band number is 7vj-7vj. (James R.)

Answer: You’re in luck! Biologists at the Bird Banding Laboratory in Maryland were able to research the eagle’s backstory based on the information you provided and other sighting reports they received. The eagle you photographed was banded as a nestling in May 2017 near Hemet in Riverside County. In January 2018, the eagle was found injured and taken to a Riverside County rehabilitation facility. It looks like the eagle’s recovery was successful because there was a reported sighting in March 2018 at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, and another reported sighting in January 2019 in Riverside County.

The band on this eagle is called a Visual Identification Number, or VID. This type of band is easily visible using binoculars, spotting scopes or camera lenses, making the collection of re-sighting data even more possible. This data is used to understand species ranges, movement, survival and other ecological factors of interest to researchers.

You can find a lot of interesting information about bald eagles on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) website. We also encourage birders and other nature lovers to report sightings through our California Natural Diversity Database.

Very cool Howard.  Thanks for sharing.