Yesterday, the National Park Service issued a press release about an active Golden Eagle nest found earlier this year in a remote location of the Santa Monica Mountains. This important and exciting news is being celebrated by all of us at Bloom Biological Inc., especially since one of our biologists initially spotted the nest during a survey, and another of our biologists accompanied staff from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) to place USGS and auxiliary identification bands on the two chicks. These bands will hopefully help us track their status and movements as they grow up.
Golden Eagles are a fully protected species in California, and special State and Federal permits are required to handle them. Bloom Biological’s founder and zoologist, Dr. Peter Bloom, has one of these permits (since 1974) and has assisted many agencies when protected species like Bald and Golden Eagles are involved. He was even invited to Switzerland in 2018 to assist Swiss biologists with Golden Eagle research there.
Golden Eagles have not been seen in the Santa Monica mountains for over 30 years, and their reappearance is a testament to the need for protecting large open spaces, such as the SMMNRA, where wildlife can safely raise their young.
You can find the press release here:
Photos of the chicks by NPS!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/santamonicamtns/albums/72157709261761173/with/48127728348/
The story was also featured on NPR’s “Take Two” broadcast on June 26th, 2019 - you can listen to the recording here:
https://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2019/06/26/19854/
(the Golden Eagle story begins at minute 44:20)
Written By: Nicollet Overby