Winter is season for viewing bald eagles
By Amy Lorentzen
Associated Press
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DES MOINES, Iowa — Winter is eagle-watching season in many states. But those hoping to catch soaring displays of the majestic bird in Iowa will have to keep their eyes on inland areas as well as rivers.
State wildlife officials say many bald eagles remain near inland waterways because of mild weather this winter. Normally, Iowa's cold, icy winters drive the birds to rivers to forage for food when inland waters freeze over.
"Typically, most of these lakes would be frozen, but these guys are really catching fish right now ... so that allows for the birds to be spread out," said Iowa Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Bruce Ehresman.
The tailwater areas of the Mississippi River and ripples on other rivers are usually the only open water in Iowa around this time of year, and are often swarming with the national symbol.
"Bald eagles are not going to concentrate on these areas until it is the main place they can get food," Ehresman said.
Bald Eagle Appreciation Days are held across Iowa during January and February, and many other states, from California to Connecticut, also hold eagle-watching events this time of year.
That bald eagles can be seen at all is what some environmentalists call a conservation miracle. That's because the species was nearly wiped out in the continental U.S. by overuse of pesticides and loss of habitat after World War II.
"There's been a huge expansion in eagle breeding all over the place ... and some of it has just been natural expansion," said Bob Barry, a wildlife biologist with the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge in western Iowa. He said the birds remain on the nation's threatened list.
Ehresman said winter bald eagle counts used to tally just a few hundred. By January 2004, their numbers reached 4,400 in Iowa. The number of eagles that nest in the Midwest state also has skyrocketed, he said.
The North American Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey is conducted each January by wildlife biologists and conservationists. Volunteers help tally eagles in designated survey routes, following some inland streams as well as bigger rivers.
In Iowa, Ehresman said, 60 percent will be counted along the Mississippi River and another 20 percent along the Des Moines River. Smaller numbers are tallied along other open streams. This year, he says, the tally may fall to around 2,500.
"But if ... we go into a really cold spell, and all of these lakes and even some of the rivers freeze up ... then their numbers will escalate," he said. "They just aren't going to be visible in big numbers until things freeze up."
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| IF YOU GO ...
BALD EAGLE EVENTS ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Click "Bald Eagle Days" at www.missriver.org. To see a video of eagles from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, go to iowadnr.com Eagle Watch at the Quad City Expo Center, Rock Island, Ill.; (309) 794-5338. Weekends through Feb. 18, Saturdays-Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m.; $4 adults, $1 children.Bald Eagle Watch, Mississippi Valley Welcome Center, LeClaire, Iowa; (563) 322-3911, ext. 120. Outdoor viewing at Lock and Dam 14, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and Jan. 28 from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Indoor programs, 10 and 11 a.m. and noon Saturday; and Jan. 28 at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Bald Eagle Watch, Quincy, Iowa; (217) 228-0890. Outdoor viewing Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Lock and Dam 21. Bald Eagle Watch, Lake Red Rock, Iowa; (641) 828-7522. Outdoor viewing at Howell Station and indoor programs, Feb. 9-10, 10 a.m.2 p.m. Free. Bald Eagle Watch, Saylorville, Iowa; (515) 276-4656. Outdoor viewing at selected sites around the reservoir, starting at the visitors' center, Feb. 25. DESOTO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: fws.gov. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: Places to see bald eagles at www.fws.gov Listings include:
OTHER BALD EAGLE EVENTS: Millerton Lake State Recreational Area, Millerton Lake, Calif. Three-hour guided tours on weekends at 8 a.m. in January and February; $15. Reservations: (559) 822-2332. Connecticut Audubon Society's 2007 Eagle Festival, Essex, Conn., Feb. 17-18, www.ctaudubon.org. Guided boat tours for eagle-watching on the Connecticut River. Tickets for 10 a.m. and noon tours, $40; for 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., adults $35, children 12 and younger, $20. Children 4 and younger free on all boats. Reservations: (800) 714-7201. Annual Winter Wings Festival, Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, Ore., Feb. 15-18, winterwingsfest.com. Tours, workshops, eagle viewing. Fees vary; some events are free. Eagle watches in Northeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware River, Rio Reservoir and Lackawaxen River, sponsored by the Pocono Environmental Education Center, peec.org, (570) 828-2319. Eagles & Winter Raptors Watch, Jan. 28, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., $35 (pre-register). Eagle Watch, Feb. 11, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., $30 (pre-register). Where Eagles Soar, Feb. 16-18, field trip and lectures, $180 (two nights lodging and six meals), at the Pocono Environmental Education Center in Dingmans Ferry, Pa. (pre-register). In Lackawaxen, Pa., guided eagle excursions ($10) every Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. through Feb. 25, sponsored by Eagle Institute, eagleinstitute.org, (845) 557-6162 or (570) 685-5960. |
