— from Anthony Popp, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, NAS Whidbey —
(Photo used by permission of Christin Sasse.)
An eagle captured at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Ault Field under the Bird Air Strike Hazard Program and released over 150 miles south of the base in April 2012 was spotted this week in Vancouver, B.C., during an eagle count.
The eagle, still wearing a brown-colored band on its right leg, was seen with several other eagles at a landfill. According to Dane Ledbetter, a U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife biologist at the air station, this eagle was one of the very first banded aboard the air base through a permit from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The capture and release program helps keep both eagles and aircraft safe from one another. (Photo used by permission of Christin Sasse.)
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