Brad Dokken: Banded Lake of the Woods eagle is 32 years old and counting
Oct. 6—I hadn't noticed the band on the eagle's leg, when Herald photographer Eric Hylden and I joined Lisa Marvin back in August at her most cherished shore lunch spot on the Ontario side of Lake of the Woods.
These days Marvin, a Warroad, Minnesota, native and former UND women's hockey player, works as a Northwest Angle fishing guide and Realtor. Hylden and I had joined her to spend a few hours in a boat for a
story about her life since UND and the foundation she and her family, with help from others, set up in the name of her brother, Max,
who died by suicide in December 2018.
Max was 19 years old.
The secluded shore lunch spot we visited that August afternoon is dedicated to Max, an avid outdoorsman who had recently completed his first year of guiding up at the Angle. The spot includes two sturdy picnic tables, one with a metal sign engraved in Max's memory made by family friend Jamie Byfuglien, who's also a Northwest Angle fishing guide.
The eagle we'd seen often holds court at the shore lunch spot, Marvin said, and put up with our intrusion as Hylden snapped countless photos of the majestic bird.
That the eagle would choose a shore lunch spot to spend its time was no surprise. Eagles are scavengers by nature, and throughout the summer, there's usually a steady supply of fish carcasses available, left behind by visitors who clean and cook their catches on the island.
That was the case on this day, as well; two groups visited the shore lunch spot before us, and grabbing a meal wouldn't have been a problem for the eagle.
Hylden used a 400mm Canon lens to photograph the eagle from a distance of about 70 yards.
A few days after the story ran, Marvin sent a text message expressing her appreciation for the story and asked if I'd noticed that the eagle was banded.
Only then did I see the numbered band on the eagle's leg in the photo that ran with the story. I followed up with Hylden to see if he had any photos that showed the band number more clearly. That way, I could report the number to the federal
Bird Banding Laboratory
to hopefully learn more about the eagle.
By zooming in, we were able to make out the first four numbers — 2187 — but couldn't tell if the last number was a "6" or a "0."
I figured getting any information on the eagle and where it was banded would be a long shot without the full number, but I emailed the federal banding lab at
and provided them with the information I had. I also included photos of the eagle, along with three close-ups of the zoomed-in leg band.
More than a month had passed, and I'd all but forgotten about the band when I got a report Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, with an apology for the delayed reply. The conclusion was that the last digit was a "6," and that the eagle was banded in 1991 as a nestling, making it more than 32 years old.
"Congrats on a very cool sighting!" the email said.
The next day, I received a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Geological Survey for reporting the leg band, and the certificate contained even more information.
The eagle was a chick too young to fly when it was banded June 27, 1991, on the Ontario side of Lake of the Woods by Jim Grier, a professor emeritus of biological sciences at North Dakota State University.
Grier, who retired in 2006, banded some 1,400 eagles over 40 years in northwestern Ontario, an area that includes the Ontario side of Lake of the Woods.
In a 2015 interview, Grier said it's not uncommon for eagles to live as long as the bird we encountered at Max Marvin's shore lunch spot.
"We've gotten others in that same age range," he said in the 2015 interview. "The ones of us that banded several thousand birds stay in touch and let each other know when there's an eagle significantly older. We've had several birds now in that 32-year range.
"In the wild, a lot of them don't make it through their first few years, but those who make it to adult, a lot make it into that 30-year range, and then it drops off from there."
I emailed Grier a copy of the certificate Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 4, 2023, asking if he'd gotten any information about the eagle Hylden photographed. He hadn't yet, adding the banding lab accumulates reports and sends them to the banders only periodically.
"At that age, it is likely breeding around there and might be seen again in the future," Grier said in his email. "Live 'recoveries' are the best; they can continue to show up in the future!"
Marvin says she's seen the banded eagle a few more times since Hylden and I visited the shore lunch spot dedicated to her brother, Max.
Like the rest of us, she found the report exciting.
"I will share with all my fellow guides, they will think that is neat," she said. "We will keep an eye out for this old vet."
