Yearly eagle count observes far fewer birds

Terrence N. Ingram, the president of the Eagle Nature Foundation, has released the results of its 2023 Midwinter Bald Eagle Count that was conducted on Jan. 28 and 29 by hundreds of volunteers from Southern Illinois to Northern Minnesota and from Indiana to Nebraska.

This was the 63rd year for this eagle count to be conducted. The results of this eagle count help us monitor any changes in the wintering bald eagle population.

The volunteers sighted a total of only 1,127 bald eagles when only last year they sighted 2070. The number of immature bald eagles that were sighted has dropped to 189 while last year they sighted 406 immatures. While the total numbers of eagles seen has dropped tremendously the percentage of young has remained the same for both years at 24.7%, Ingram says in a news release.

“What is most disturbing is that one dam on the Mississippi River, #5A, which had 52 adult eagles last year had no eagles on either of the two count days this year. Lock and Dam #5 had 92 adult eagles last year and this year only had 12 adults,” Ingram says in the release. “Last year the Illinois River lost 71 birds from the year before, while this year it remained almost the same as it only lost 3 birds this year. Last year the area along the St. Croix River in Minnesota had lost 116 birds from the year before and this year it lost another 68 birds with only 5 birds, 3 adults and 2 unknown, being sighted.”

Last year Lock and Dam #19 lost 31 birds and this year it gained back 28 keeping the eagle population in that area stable. The area south of St. Louis lost 9 birds last year and lost another 9 birds this year. This year the Missouri River in Eastern Nebraska recorded 30 birds less than last year and the number of immatures dropped from 14 to only 6 this year, but the number of 4 year old birds, or sub-adults, increased from 1 last year to 4 this year, Ingram says.

There were seven dams on the Mississippi River which did not send in a report this year. This may account for some of the total loss of birds recorded, but the overall count does not look good, especially when the total number of immatures is dropping greatly from one year to the next, Ingram said.

The average percentage of immatures for the 63 years of the count is 27.1%, while this year it was only 24.7%. The average percentage of young eagles for the past five years is only 23.7%. The average percentage of young for the first five years, in the early 1960’s, was 19.4% and for the second five years of the count it was 28.5% higher than this year’s. “Perhaps the Bird Flu or West Nile Virus or some chemical in the environment is the cause for this decline in the immature eagles being sighted or even being fledged,” Ingram said.

Each year the Annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Count is scheduled for the last weekend in January, which normally is between the Southward Migration and the Northward Migration, to keep the movement of the birds is fairly low. The Southern Migration usually peaks sometime during early half of January and the Northern Migration peaks around the middle to the end of February. “The migration north usually has two peaks, depending on whether the birds are nesting in Northern Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota or further north into Canada. Some lock masters provide us with hourly reports of the eagles sighted at their dam for the two count days, which helps us determine how much migration is taking place during the two count days.”

“Our thanks reach out to the many volunteers who make this count possible,” Ingram said.

For more information about the Eagle Nature Foundation, visit here.