“Eagles, Eagles Everywhere...”

 By Scott Lee

To paraphrase an old saying, “Eagles, eagles everywhere but not a fish to eat”, just how can a fish-eating bird survive where most of the water freezes solid?  They can’t, can they?  They must all fly south where the water doesn’t freeze, right?  Well, that surely isn’t the case with the bald eagles around here.  Granted there are more of them during the other seasons, but there is no shortage of them in and around the refuge during our winters.

Fish is definitely their food of choice, but finding them in frozen waterways is no easy task so they seem to have three options – head south where water isn’t as likely to freeze, search the area for open water, or give up on their favorite food and find something else to eat.  All three seem to be what they choose.

Many, obviously, migrate south and then head back this way come spring.  Back in 1994, my son and I stood on the observation deck at the refuge on the first day of spring, with the migration back in full swing, and in a 180-degree scan with the binoculars, we counted 149 eagles!  They were sitting on the very thin ice, seemingly finding the winterkill of fish that had floated up to the small amount of open water and just under the thin ice to feast on.  149 eagles!  At a time when eagles were still pretty rare!  Later that summer I had the privilege to spend time with Roger Tory Peterson and shared that sighting with him.  Even he was extremely impressed.  He commented to me, “That’s a place I need to visit!”  I, of course, invited him but, sadly, he passed away before getting that opportunity.

Those eagles that stay, but refuse to give up on their fish diet, spend their time in areas such as below the lock and dams, where the water stays open year round.  Shortly before this past Christmas, after most of the river had frozen up, I counted 22 eagles on the ice, flying, and in the trees right below the dam in Trempealeau.  It’s pretty rare to visit there without seeing a number of eagles taking advantage of the fishing opportunities.

The eagles that do revise their eating habits must find other opportunities for food.  One place I always see them is along County G, just northeast of Pine Creek (about 7 or 8 miles from the refuge).  There is a big turkey farm there and the eagles seem to be able to find plenty of food in that area.  During the annual Christmas Bird Count for Trempealeau County this year on December 14th, my route includes this area and I counted 43 eagles in less than a one-mile stretch there, including 17 in one tree!

The American bald eagle is, obviously, a very resourceful critter and, as a result of this resourcefulness, has made a remarkable comeback from near extinction caused by the use of DDT back in the 1960s.   We live in a wonderful area to witness that comeback!