December 20, 2009 Eagle Roost Count

Posted by gengberg on December 22nd, 2009

Hello all of you fine eagle enthusiasts:We collectively counted 49 birds yesterday, 10 fewer birds than two weeks ago. This number is quite surprising as large numbers of eagles have been seen on Eagle Island and at the dam during the week but those numbers are not reflected in the upriver roost counts at Blackhawk and Sugar Loaf Roosts. A total of 12 birds were counted in those two roosts whereas 17 eagles were counted just on Eagle Island during the afternoon of December 10. Of interest, Joe Howard counted at Blackhawk and saw at least two eagles fly into and perch in the bluff about 1 mile east of Sugar Loaf (about ½ mile south of Blackhawk Roost). Perhaps more birds were roosting there rather than in Sugar Loaf Roost. Tim Moermond will try to have counters look at this spot during the next count.

At the other end of the river, eagle use was typical of a early cold and snowy December. Eagle numbers at Lone Rock were cut in half. This was expected because the river is largely frozen and snow covered. Other downriver roosts like Jones Slough and McDonald also had no birds while Fox had a few eagles. While driving back from Jones Slough one eagle flew over Highway 60, heading north. This bird was close to the nest near Highways C and 60 and this could be one of the resident adults. Ferry Bluff Roost also counted no birds and I would have expected more birds there in a cold December. It appears that, though birds abandoned the lower river roosts as expected, they have not concentrated in the upriver roosts as typically occurs when ice cover is extensive. It might also be that the extensive snows drove birds further south to the Mississippi River. We shall see what happens upriver as the winter develops.