Abstract:
The U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground supports one of the largest bald eagle concentrations on the Northern Chesapeake Bay (Buehler et al., 1987). The testing of large caliber weapons and detonation of large explosive charges at U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground is creating significant noise and producing concerns on the potential effects on bald eagles. The population using Aberdeen consists of approximately 15 nesting pairs and up to 100 wintering or nonbreeding residents. Systematic observations on potential influence of noise on bald eagles were made from November 1993 through December 1995. We detected no response in a high percentage of nesting and roosting eagles exposed to numerous types of noise at varying levels of intensity.