Dear Peter, Does it hurt the birds when they have to carry around that transmitter all the time?
A. Good question Holly. We don’t think so, but it is hard to know what an eagle is thinking! They seem to be able to carry it fine and go about their normal day to day business without any affect. The transmitters are designed to fall off the birds after a few years. You raise a good point though, and one which wildife researchers constanly need to ask themselves; is the impact on my study animal worth the information? Valley Creek Elementary dpalmer@mckinney.isd.tenet.
