Onassis Arroyo is a local avid bird photographer enthusiast who regularly photographs birds and other wildlife in the Yucaipa area. He is especially drawn to a pair of bald eagles, one with a band on its leg, who are often together near the Crafton Hills area.

“From 2021-2024, I made it my quest to try and capture the numbers on the banded female eagle in my photographs. Over time I have collected hundreds of images of the banded eagle,” said Arroyo.

Arroyo updated his camera with additional megapixels to assist with the undertaking of gathering numbers on the banded eagle.

Recently, local photographer Tony Lumsden gave his friend, Arroyo the missing puzzle piece with an image that include the missing numbers on the banded eagle for identification purposes.

“I typed in the band numbers on www.reportband.gov. an integrated scientific program that supports data from banded and marked birds, and I had a hit!” said Arroyo.

“It was great to help a friend with the missing puzzle piece. It has been a fun adventure,” said Lumsden.

Subsequently, Arroyo was contacted by Nicollett Overby, who is a Banding Data Specialist for Bloom Biological.

“The band was placed on the Bald Eagle as a chick near Ramona, San Diego County in 2014,” said Overby.

“This is an exciting encounter as we have never had any previous resights of this individual eagle, and Arroyo was able to obtain the full band number almost exactly 10 years after it was banded as a chick in the nest near the town of Ramona in San Diego County,” said Overby.

“I was thrilled to learn the history of the female eagle and how far she traveled,” said Arroyo. Overby manages banding data for Dr. Peter Bloom. The data goes back to the 1970s. Zoologist Dr. Peter Bloom is an internationally acclaimed raptor biologist and founder of Bloom Research. He has spent four decades studying, banding, tracking hawks, eagles, kites, condors and owls. He works with landowners and the regulatory agencies in conserving their habit.

Dr. Bloom and his colleagues have captured nearly 850 golden eagles and more than 54,000 other types of birds, in a quest to learn more about the importance of natal dispersal, philopatry, movements, and unique migration pattern as they relate to conservation biology, according to Bloom Research, INC.

Bloom and his sub-permittees have banded over 50,000 birds (mostly in California) since 1970. We rely on citizen scientists to help us by reporting the bands and tags encountered in North America, while giving the eagles space while photographing them.

“Citizen banding encounters become an important data point for research into natal dispersal and other movements,” said Overby.

For more information visit the U.S. Geological Survey at www.usgs.gov. Additionally, citizens can report bird banding observations at www.reportband.gov.