By Andrew Berry
The golden eagle, Harper, has landed back in Bernheim Forest for the fifth consecutive year! The long term research project has tracked him since 2015 on his journeys from Bernheim to the wilderness near Churchill, Manitoba. He completed the 1600-mile migration in 25 days, taking off from his summer range on October 22, 2019 and arriving at Bernheim on November 16, 2019.
Harper’s approach to Bernheim was further west this year. He entered Kentucky near Lewisport in Hancock County, traveled over Radcliff and Fort Knox High School, then used the Crooked Creek Wildlife Corridor and Knobs State Forest on his approach. In the past few days he has visited areas in Bernheim where he roosted and spent time last winter in the Wilson Creek valley.
Athena is still in Indiana near South Bend along the Yellow River. She has taken a break for a few days and will hopefully soon be continuing her migration towards Bernheim. Waiting to see if and how these two birds come back together at Bernheim is something we are very excited to document. Stay tuned as we continue to unravel this complex migration and hopefully see these two reunited in the coming days.