wildlife

A reader wants to know why she's seen Department of Environmental Conservation agents at a location in the Town of Alexander setting up a trap and watching it.

Kenneth Roblee, a senior wildlife biologist with the DEC's Buffalo office, said the DEC is trying to capture a mating pair of bald eagles that are known to range in the area so radio transmitters can be attached to the birds.

He and a partner have been trying to trap the eagles since early December.

The eagles are of interest to the DEC because their range includes the windmill farms in Orangeville.

"We want to collect information on their home range," Roblee said. "We want to track their movements in relation to the Orangeville wind project. We know the birds are in the area. They are nesting closest to a wind project as any pair of eagles in our region. We want to know how they interact with the turbines, if they approach them at all, and how the turbines might effect their habitat."

It's an important project, he said.

"The information would really help out our eagle management and protection program," Roblee said.

The trap contains bait and hidden netting. The DEC agents watch the trap and if the eagle lands and the timing seems right, little rockets fire and ensnare the eagle in the netting.

They almost got an eagle trapped on the 30th (of January), but it didn't quite work, so the agents are still trying.

The eagles are smart. The agents have to set the trap up in the dark of night. If one wire or rope or anything else isn't positioned as exactly how the eagle would remember it, the eagle will avoid the area. If the agents are spotted, the eagles will avoid the area.

Roblee asked that we only provide a general vicinity of where the DEC is setting up the trap. He said he and his associates try to keep the neighbors informed about what they're doing, but it's best if people stay away from the area because the eagles are so skittish.

The agents are using either a blind or staying in their vehicle while watching the trap.

The trap, by regulation, must be monitored at all times by two agents, and there also must be two agents on hand to handle the eagle if captured.

The DEC officials are being assisted by two experts in eagle capture, a woman from Watertown who has previously captured 14 bald eagles and another who has done a good deal of work over the years with bald eagles.

"It's a waiting game," Roblee said. "It's frustrating, but it's important information to have."

Photo: Provided by Roblee of an eagle with bait at a location.

Be on the lookout for bears in Le Roy!

According to its police department, there have been some bears sightings in the area around Hartwood Park.

And today, a resident in a housing tract known as Presidential Acres called police saying his bird feeders were destroyed and the animal tracks in the wet grass went into a wooded area behind his house. Presidential Acres runs between Summit Street Road and Robbins Road, west of the Hartwood Park area.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation was contacted and their advice to the homeowner is something the police department would like readers to know:

• Ensure that all garbage outside is either secured or brought in.
• Bird feeders, while they can be out during the day, need to be brought in at night, every night.
• Know that bears are intelligent animals and once they determine the location of an easy meal, they will come back continually.
• It should be emphasized that bears are wild animals and should be left alone.
• If the animal appears injured, or there is some incident causing danger, call police or the DEC to address the problem. Do not approach the animal.

To contact the Le Roy Police Department call 768-2527, ext. 2225, and leave a voicemail for Sgt. Timothy R. Hayes or call the Dispatch Center at 345-6350.

To contact the DEC office for Genesee County (Region 8) in regard to wildlife issues, call the Avon office at (585) 226-5380.

Local professional photographer Jay Terkel sent in this picture taken in his backyard in Corfu of a Cooper's hawk making a meal of a starling.

A bear was spotted in the area of Ham and Knowlesville roads, Alabama, this afternoon.

The reader who saw it didn't have a camera at the moment, but is keeping an eye out in case a photo opportunity presents itself.

We haven't been able to confirm it, but a reader reports that bears may have been spotted in the area of Platt Road and Kelsey Road in the Town of Batavia.

Mike Wasilco, regional wildlife manager for the Department of Environmental Control, said if there are bears in the area, nobody has called the DEC.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Wasilco said. "Bears have been seen recently in Wyoming County, which isn't that far away. What happens is young male bears strike out looking to find their own territory. This time of year you see bears in areas where you haven't seen them before."

His advice: Don't leave out food, no bird feeders, garbage, BBQ grills or pet food.

"Bears will behave themselves until they figure out that people are a nice and easy source of food," he said.

Meanwhile, while speaking with Wasilco, I asked him about the beavers building a dam near Creek Road in Bethany, which we covered Monday.  He said the local property owners can apply for a permit to relocate the beavers, which they can then either do themselves or higher a specialist.  Of course, one problem: The property owners with the problem don't own the land where the beavers are building, and that property owner is happy with the dam.