By Bernheim
This winter, the Bernheim team briefly captured and began tracking a female golden eagle. In February, the public chose the name Athena, for the Greek goddess of wisdom, courage and inspiration.
Athena is the second golden eagle Bernheim is tracking and is thought to be the companion of Harper, her male counterpart who Bernheim has been following since 2015. Named for I.W. Harper, the brand of bourbon Bernheim’s founder Isaac Wolfe Bernheim distilled. The public also helped name him.
Now making their way north to their summer breeding grounds in Canada, trail cameras and their GPS transmitter signals indicated the possible ‘lovebirds’ were spending time together at Bernheim, potentially making them the first pair of golden eagles tracked together in the eastern United States.
The data Bernheim collects is being shared with others in the golden eagle research community, with the goal of expanding the understanding and protection of eastern golden eagles.
Harper and Athena’s activities have already illustrated the importance of large forest blocks such as Bernheim, and other protected land where eagles can hunt, roost and breed to ensure their future existence as a species.
Bernheim partnered with Cellular Tracking Technologies and Conservation Science Global to outfit Athena and Harper with GPS satellite transmitters.
Bernheim wishes to thank the Beckham Bird Club and private donors for funding this important research and continuing Isaac Wolfe Bernheim’s legacy of conservation.
The public can follow the golden eagle research project at bernheim.org/golden-eagle-research. Regular updates will be made as the team at Bernheim follows the journey of the two eagles.