A little bit about Dr. Trish Miller: Dr. Miller is the Executive Director and Senior Research Wildlife Biologist of Conservation Science Global, 501 (c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to preserve our natural heritage in a changing world through active conservation, education, and research. She is a wildlife biologist and ecologist with extensive experience in raptor conservation, and holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from Penn State and has worked in various roles, including establishing a GIS lab at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and serving as a Wildlife Biologist at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on movement ecology and the conservation of raptors, especially Golden and Bald Eagles, addressing human-wildlife conflicts, such as those with wind energy development and aviation. Trish is an active member of several conservation groups and also volunteers with local initiatives in West Cape May, NJ, including bird banding programs. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, kayaking, biking, and observing raptor migration.
When Doc was photographed recently by Paul Winer, Trish provided us with this account of their initial encounter, as well as what the data mean today. Here is Doc's story, in Trish's own words. Enjoy!
Nearly 8 years ago, my USFWS collaborators and I headed out to a bald eagle nest on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River. We took a gator down a long, muddy road and stopped at an abandoned house with a duckweed covered pool. Just across the railroad tracks from the house was our target. We all headed over to that nest and waited patiently, while our climber determined if he could safely access the nest located high in a cottonwood tree.
About an hour later, our climber made it to the nest and safely sent the eaglet down the tree in his eagle bag. Once on the ground, Sara and I processed the bird – a male that we estimated to be 52 days old – the perfect age for tagging. We named the bird “Doc” in honor of the previous owner of the abandoned house. We sent the bird back up to the nest and that was the last time we saw him!
Here is a photo of Doc smiling for the camera - say FISH!
His 2G/3G cellular telemetry unit from Cellular Tracking Technologies is a bit faded, but it continues to hold a good charge, dipping now almost certainly because of those feathers over the solar panel that charges the battery! Hopefully, someday soon he will find an open territory, a mate, and produce young. I am looking forward to collecting the data to show that.
"It is always a thrill to track birds – and more thrilling yet to track them for so long." - Dr. Trish Miller
That year, nearly nine years ago, we tagged 31 young bald eagles in Illinois, Iowa, and Oklahoma. We are still tracking 9 of them today! The bird we named Doc is alive and well. On 17 Feb 2025, he was spotted fishing by a volunteer for the USFWS at Lock and Dam 13 on the Mississippi River, not far from where he was first captured. He has lost his chocolate brown head and become a gorgeous adult.
Since we first tagged him, we have collected over 680,000 GPS locations. He has been a world traveler – well at least a North American traveler – heading north to Canada during his second summer in 2018 and exploring the Midwest throughout the years with an affinity for the big Midwestern rivers but also for much smaller rivers in the Arkansas Ozarks. Unlike some of his cohort, he is not yet holding a breeding territory and continues to roam widely throughout the year.
And for those tech-y readers, here's a look into the performance of the tag over time.
Trish Miller and Sara Schmuecker provided all images (except those taken by Paul Winer of Doc in flight, as an adult bald eagle) and Trish Miller provided graphics and content.