HABITAT USE BY NONBREEDING BALD EAGLES IN NORTH-CAROLINA

Examined nocturnal roosting and diurnal perching habitat used by nonbreeding Haliaeetus leucocephalus. Eagles used roost areas that were less dense, had less canopy cover, were closer to forest edges, and had larger trees than randomly selected areas, and they used trees that were larger than random trees for roosting and perching. Suitable perch trees were the most important attribute of perching habitat. Eagles used loblolly pines Pinus taeda and trees with leafless crowns, probably because these crowns were most accessible for perching. Eagles perched in the bottom of tree crowns during summer, in tree tops during fall and winter. Roosting habitat should receive primary management emphasis because of its apparent low occurrence in C North Carolina. -from Authors