Beginning in 1977 the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted annual surveys to determine statewide golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) occupancy and productivity. Current interest in the regional and national status of the species prompted our investigation to determine utility of historical data in assessing trends in reproduction, and to test efficacy of a sampling protocol that surveyed randomly selected territories and also accounted for detection probability. We found evidence indicating poor reproduction from 38 annual surveys conducted at 301 known territories statewide between 1977 and 2014. At 256 territories in eastern Washington, USA, apparent occupancy was low ( = 50.9%) and nesting success declined by 22%. All reproductive parameters were higher than at 45 territories in western Washington. We tested efficacy of a sampling protocol in 2013 and 2014 by surveying 108 randomly selected eastern territories. Probability of detecting eagles for these years from ground (= 89%) was greater than from air (= 66%). Our estimate of territory occupancy, corrected by probability of detection, was lower in 2013 (= 56.7%, 95% CI = 46.3–66.7%) than in 2014 (= 73.7%, 95% CI = 64.8–81.7%), as was the estimated number of breeding pairs (2013: = 158, 95% CI = 151–164; 2014: = 187, 95% CI = 182–192). Higher productivity (young/occupied territory) in 2013 (= 0.59, 95% CI = 0.40–0.82) than in 2014 (= 0.41, 95% CI = 0.27–0.59) and lower proportions of ≥1 immature eagle among nesting pairs in 2013 (16%) than in 2014 (31%), suggested higher immature pairing among sampled pairs contributed to inter‐year differences in these reproductive parameters. Current and historical evidence for depressed golden eagle nesting in Washington is consistent with documented effects from habitat conversion, prey declines, lead contamination, and wind power development. We recommend future surveys in eastern Washington adhere to the random sampling protocol and conduct surveys at regular intervals to allow for trend analysis of reproductive parameters to better monitor golden eagle status. Surveys in western Washington, conducted exclusively from ground at all nests, will improve detection and cost efficiency. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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华盛顿金鹰沮丧繁殖的证据

从1977年开始，华盛顿鱼类和野生动物部进行了年度调查，以确定全州范围内的金鹰（Aquila chrysaetos）的占有率和生产力。当前对该物种的地区和国家地位的关注促使我们进行调查，以确定历史数据在评估繁殖趋势中的效用，并测试抽样方案的功效，该方案对随机选择的地区进行了调查，并也说明了检测概率。我们发现证据表明，从1977年至2014年，在全州301个已知领土上进行的38次年度调查显示繁殖不佳。在美国华盛顿东部的256个领土上，明显的占用率较低（ = 50.9％），嵌套成功率下降了22％。所有生殖参数均高于华盛顿西部45个地区。我们在2013年和2014年通过对108个随机选择的东部地区进行调查，测试了抽样协议的功效。这些年来，从地面（= 89％）检测到鹰的概率大于从空中（= 66％）检测到鹰的概率。我们对区域占用率的估计（通过检测概率校正）在2013年（= 56.7％，95％CI = 46.3–66.7％）低于2014年（= 73.7％，95％CI = 64.8–81.7％），估计的繁殖对数量（2013年：= 158，95％CI = 151–164； 2014：= 187，95％CI = 182–192）。与2014年相比，2013年的生产率（年轻/被占领土）更高（= 0.59，95％CI = 0.40–0.82）= 0.41，95％CI = 0.27-0.59），而2013年（16％）的成对配对中≥1只未成熟鹰的比例低于2014年（31％），表明采样对之间较高的不成熟配对造成了年间差异。这些生殖参数。华盛顿凹陷的金鹰筑巢的当前和历史证据与栖息地转换，猎物减少，铅污染和风力发展产生的有据可查的影响是一致的。我们建议未来在华盛顿东部的调查应遵循随机抽样方案，并定期进行调查，以便对生殖参数进行趋势分析，以更好地监控金鹰的状况。在华盛顿西部进行的，仅在所有巢穴地面进行的勘测将提高探测效率和成本效率。©2020野生动物协会。