Count Begins For Nesting Bald Eagles 11 Found During Opening Day Excursion On Kootenai River
In the annual midwinter bald eagle count, the eagles hold the advantage.
They have eagle eyes, after all.
As they perched in the treetops along the Kootenai River Thursday, camouflaged by a backdrop of snow-splotched conifers, mere human eyes had to look carefully to spot one.
Puffs of mist hovered over the frigid green river as Sandy Jacobson, a U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist, and Greg Johnson, an Idaho Fish and Game officer, motored upriver looking for eagles.
Today, hundreds of other teams will venture out along known eagle routes in 38 states to do the same. The annual count, which was started in 1979 by the National Wildlife Federation, has become one reliable indicator of how the eagles are faring in the United States.
Jacobson spied a mature eagle in a tree branch next to the railroad, its wings held out from its sides like a weight lifter preparing to hoist barbells.
“He’s drying out,” she noted.
This route was chosen for its food supply. Whether it’s fish from the river or carcasses along the railroad tracks, eagles have been able to find a meal here most winters.
The winter of 1996-97, biologists counted 47 bald eagles in the canyon, most of which were there to dine on a record number of deer carcasses. On Thursday, however, they only counted 11 eagles along the entire 16-mile route and several nests.
“When we started there were only two nests,” Johnson said. “Now, every other year, we find a new one.”
As the boat neared a tree fort of sticks, home to two bald eagles, Jacobson said, “I found this one on my birthday.”
An eagle swooped away as the boat approached.
“I predicted it would be here,” she recalled. In the early ‘90s, the county only had three eagle territories. Now there are at least 11.
With the increasing numbers, and the distance from other nests, this stand of cottonwoods seemed an ideal place for another nest, she said. “The habitat was here.”
The counts along this route were initially conducted by a U.S. Forest Service biologist who hitched a ride on a freight train.
“He just about froze to death,” said Jacobson, herself dressed in snow pants, a winter jacket, ski goggles and gloves for the open boat excursion.
Other North Idaho survey routes also follow waterways.
Priest River, the lower Kootenai River, Pend Orielle and Coeur d’Alene lakes and rivers will also be visited this week, as they have for nearly two decades.
“We have about 14 (routes) in North Idaho,” explained Scott Robinson, eagle expert with the Bureau of Land Management.
“This is a nationwide, continental-wide survey,” he said. “If we can identify a very narrow window which will allow most of us to get out and do it … we can get a snapshot picture of where all the eagles are during these two days.”
The data collected since 1986 also have allowed researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey to plot population trends.
Karen Steenhof of the USGS is the national coordinator of the midwinter count and gathers the statistics from nearly 600 survey routes across the country. Only 408 of the most consistently gathered are used in the trend analysis, however.
In 1986, the count tallied 9,437 eagles nationwide. In 1999, 16,691 were counted. That’s not a solid population estimate, but the numbers do give biologists and others an indication of how the once-endangered bird is faring.
“It’s plateaued at about 16,000 the last few years,” Steenhof said.
This year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to remove the bald eagle from the threatened and endangered species list.
The eagle’s decline began in the 1800s with widespread hunting. Strychnine-poisoned carrion, the loss of habitat and the loss of carrion such as buffalo were also a factor. Later, the use of DDT, an insecticide, dealt a near fatal blow to remaining populations.
In 1963, a survey showed 417 active nests in the lower 48 states.
In 1972, DDT was banned. In 1978, bald eagles were listed as an endangered species, except in five states, where they were listed as threatened.
Since the listing and land management efforts to protect the nation’s symbol, breeding pairs increased to more than 4,400 in 1994, according to breeding surveys.
Even if the eagle is no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act, it will remain fully protected under other U.S. laws.
And the midwinter counts may also continue as part of a monitoring plan.
For Jacobson, who began her career studying bald eagles at Shasta Lake in California, the return of the bald eagle is particularly gratifying.
She’s been running the Kootenai River the last 15 winters to count the eagles and doesn’t seem to mind the cold. Every eagle sighting still excites her, she said.
“It’s heartening to see the increase.”
Susan Drumheller can be reached at (208) 263-6441 or by e-mail at susand@spokesman.com.