Movements of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from interior Alaska during their first year of independence

We used satellite telemetry to study year-round movements of two cohorts of juvenile Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Radiotagged Golden Eagles started autumn migration between 15 September and 5 October and arrived on their winter areas 31 to 86 days later. Cumulative tracking distances during autumn migration ranged from 818 to 4,815 km. Peak tracking velocities during autumn migration reached 261 km day(-1) in 1997 and 472 km day(-1) in 1999. Golden Eagles wintered from southern Yukon Territory to southern New Mexico, and most spent the winter within 75 km of the location where they terminated their autumn migration. Spring migration occurred from late March through mid-June. Eagles showed little fidelity to their autumn migration paths as they migrated northwest in spring through western Canada and into Alaska. Duration of spring migration ranged from 24 to 54 days, and cumulative tracking distance during spring migration ranged from 2,032 to 4,491 km. Peak tracking velocities during spring migration reached 284 km day(-1) in 1998 and 330 km day(-1) in 2000. In contrast to juvenile Golden Eagles raised at temperate latitudes in North America, juveniles raised in Denali traveled thousands of kilometers across western North American during their first year of independence. Our results suggest that conservation strategies for migratory Golden Eagles from Denali, and perhaps from other areas in northern North America, require a continental approach.