The availability of very small, lightweight GPS telemetry units powered by solar-rechargeable batteries has opened up a new world for studying the movements of many migratory bird species. In this talk, Carol will describe the evolution of satellite telemetry technology, particularly in relation to birds, and highlight how we’ve used it to uncover some of the amazing movements of Alaska’s migratory Golden Eagles.

Carol McIntyre is a wildlife biologist who leads long-term Golden Eagle research and monitoring in Denali National Park and Preserve. This multi-decadal program is among the most comprehensive in the world, providing critical information on how Golden Eagles nesting near the northern periphery of their breeding range in western North America are responding to climatic changes that are already underway. Carol was among the first scientists to use satellite telemetry to study the movements of migratory Golden Eagles in North America, revealing the importance of Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain and the wetlands of western Alaska to younger cohorts of Denali’s Golden Eagles. Carol earned her MS at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and her PhD at Oregon State University. She is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and a recipient of the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Award, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Raptor Research Foundation, the world’s largest professional society for raptor researchers and conservationists.