A young wedge-tailed eagle from Maria Island has defied expectations by taking over four years to leave his parents’ territory.
Ernie is one of 25 young eagles being tracked using GPS devices by researchers from the University of Tasmania, who are working to better understand the movement patterns and survival rates of the birds.
The study has found that most leave their parents’ territory around five months after fledging.
However, Ernie took 19 months to leave his home and another two and a half years to reach mainland Tasmania.
“Of the 25 eagles we have been tracking, 24 have been flying thousands of kilometres around Tasmania,” lead researcher Dr James Pay said.
“We’ve been following them for the last seven years now. Some of them have died, some of them are still going.”
“Because of the longevity of the study, the ones that are still going are giving us pretty valuable insights into their life cycles.”
He believes Ernie’s island lifestyle and the fact he was the only island-based wedge-tailed eagle to be studied may have influenced his reluctance to leave.
“Wedge-tailed eagles generally don’t like flying over open water, so it is likely that flying the 4-5 kilometres between Maria Island and mainland Tasmania was a daunting prospect for Ernie,” Pay said.
After finally making the flight from the island, Ernie explored the east coast before settling in the Tasman Peninsula, where researchers believe he may be looking to establish his own territory.
Despite leaving his island home, the six-year-old remains attached and has revisited three times since his initial flight.
“We don’t know when or where Ernie’s going to finally settle in his own territory and start breeding,” Pay said.
“We expect it’s probably going to be somewhere in the south-east of Tasmania, so the areas that he’s already explored.”
“It could well be back on Maria Island, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
