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Monitoring birds - Protecting waters - Inspiring change
Our Story: From Our Founders
The History
For over 65 years, an annual spring ritual has played out across the Great Lakes. Fearless pilots and observers scan the land for bald eagle nests perched atop huge pines and aspens, recording which nests are active and, later, how many nestlings have hatched. Climbers in safety gear ascend up to 140 feet to reach the nests, while scientists on the ground measure the nestlings, sample blood and feathers, band them, and return them to the nest unharmed. In a similar effort dating back to the 1920s, other waterbirds — terns, gulls, cormorants, and herons — have been surveyed, monitored, and banded. These studies of fish-eating birds form the basis of a globally important monitoring and research program, one focused not only on sustaining bird populations, but also on understanding changes in our environment, the health of aquatic ecosystems, and, ultimately, human exposure to disease and pollutants.
Over the past decade, however, a range of threats has jeopardized the program's future. First, the success of banning harmful chemicals and the resurgence of these birds meant other projects were deemed more in need of funding. The COVID-19 pandemic created gaps in data collection, since researchers weren't able to go into the field. In 2022, a deadly strain of avian flu devastated waterbird colonies and wiped out 40% of Michigan's breeding eagle pairs. Even so, dedicated researchers kept the programs alive through years of steep funding cuts — until 2025, when federal funding essentially dried up for nearly every field research project across the U.S. Dire times called for creative solutions. This is how we began.
Our Story
On May 19, 2025, Dr. Bill Bowerman, Dr. Mike Wierda, and Jennifer Day were driving down a rural road in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on their way to a bald eagle nest. It was Bill's 41st field season monitoring nestling bald eagles across the state. But this summer was different.
Bill served as the primary investigator and researcher, with Mike — his longtime tree climber and research partner — traveling with him to nests across the state, as they had for years. Having never before struggled to fund the work, Bill suddenly found himself without the federal money he'd been promised for 2025. Determined to sustain the more than 60-year-old monitoring program and its collection of over 100,000 samples, Bill resolved to keep the research going, funding it out of his own pocket.
Jennifer was out in the field that day too, volunteering her time — handling feisty eaglets weighing seven pounds or more, drawing blood, sampling feathers, banding, and measuring growth really takes three people to do safely. On the drive to the nest, Bill and Jennifer caught up: Jennifer talked about her recent retirement after 35 years in federal service as an environmental communicator and educator on the Great Lakes, and about searching for the next chapter in her story; Bill talked about losing his funding that year, for many of the same underlying reasons.
That's when the idea for the Wings Over Water Research Institute was born. Together, they started their own nonprofit — one built to raise money for the kind of long-term research and monitoring that a grants-only approach can't sustain. Long-term monitoring projects are notoriously hard to fund, and eagle and waterbird research is no exception. Understanding contaminant trends, the impacts of climate change, species recovery, and disease surveillance requires a holistic, sustainable approach. The mission took shape: change the funding model, keep overhead low, and expand both the geography and the range of species studied. Bill, Mike, and Jennifer also talked about the need to fund and train graduate students — the next generation of scientists — in field research methods. They brought in Dr. Keith Grasman, an expert in waterbirds and pollution impacts, to join the effort. And just like that, a trip to an eagle's nest became the first page of not only their next chapter, but a mission that would shape research, students, citizens, and communities for years to come.
Our Passion
Bill loves engaging with local graduate students and citizens while working at a nest. He invites groups to nearly every site to watch him work, with a lucky few helping on the ground to collect samples. Over the years, he's connected with more than 10,000 citizens, sharing what bald eagles can teach us and why the data matters. Everyone who visits a nest leaves with a deeper appreciation for what a bird's blood can reveal. Monitoring eagles and analyzing their blood and feathers for toxic contaminants tells us about water quality and the health of the surrounding environment — including, for example, the impact of costly cleanup efforts in rivers historically polluted by industry. Every citizen who has stood at a nest site with Bill has come away inspired to act.
As we build the Wings Over Water Research Institute, momentum continues to grow. We've brought on additional researchers, expanded the species we monitor, and broadened our research sites and geographic reach. Beyond Michigan, Voyageurs National Park, and the Great Lakes region, we're now in conversation with researchers and partners in the Chesapeake Bay area and elsewhere across the United States.
Our Commitment
The Wings Over Water Research Institute is dedicated to the long-term monitoring of bald eagles and fish-eating waterbird populations as sensitive indicators of water quality. We produce high-quality research, outreach, and education — providing the data needed to manage avian populations and engage the public on critical environmental issues, and inspiring action. Founded in 2025, WOWRI was created to fill the gap left by research funding cuts, to build on decades of long-running studies that form the foundation of this work, and to establish a new model for funding environmental research.
<--- My eggs and blood tell a story, help me share it.
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