It’s bald eagle showtime in Bay Area
Late Saturday afternoon, we felt a presence overhead. We all looked up.
A bald eagle, one of the biggest I’ve ever seen, with a wingspan that appeared well over 8 feet, sailed directly over us. It was so close that you could see its dark eyes. Its shiny white head and tail feathers, and glistening black wings, contrasted against a blue sky. Without a single wing beat, it glided to a nearby pine.
We were out on a mountain lake enjoying the warm afternoon, fall colors and a few trout, and then a bald eagle stole the show. A lot of people are having such encounters this fall across the Bay Area and near the lakes of Northern California.
Bald eagles migrating from Alaska and Canada are joining the resident eagles at local lakes and estuaries where there are ducks and trout to eat. They can provide a spectacular show. In the greater Bay Area, there are 40 to 50 nesting pairs, according to the Predatory Bird Research Group.
The best prospects: In the East Bay hills at Los Vaqueros Reservoir, across from Alder Point at Lake Chabot, and at Del Valle Reservoir; in the North Bay, at the NapaSonoma Marshes Wildlife Area; on the San Francisco Peninsula, off Arastradero Road in the Palo Alto foothills in the vicinity of Felt Lake (offlimits) and, lesser so, at Lower Crystal Springs (the northernmost of the two lakes).
These areas have resident eagles that have provided repeated encounters. There have been many random sightings at other locations throughout the region, according to field scout reports.
In far northern California, the best bets are at Shasta and Trinity lakes. You never know when one will appear and fly right over you.
The best time and place to see bald eagles anywhere is in winter at the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge on the Oregon border. At first light, it’s often possible to see 100 bald eagles when they leave their roosts and fly into the nearby Klamath Basin to feed. The best viewing spot is at Keno Worden Road (near the railroad tracks) just off Highway 97.