Lone eagle seen on cruise, but outing gets a bit loony

LAKE MAUMELLE — Pinnacle Mountain State Park’s Eagle Lake Cruise at 3 p.m. Saturday was a singular experience.

It was singular in the sense that we five passengers saw a single bald eagle in 90 minutes of chilly voyaging on Lake Maumelle, with temperatures in the low 40s and light winds.

But there were no complaints at the end of the trip, part of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism’s Eagle Awareness Month. In fact, we felt invigorated, despite a residual shiver or two. The enjoyment was thanks in large part to the genial guiding of park interpreter Richard Spilman.

The one eagle Spilman spotted and pointed out was flying above trees along the lake’s shoreline, a long shot to photograph even with a telephoto lens. Several of the majestic national birds had been seen on the day’s two earlier cruises, he said. But unlike more propitious occasions, none of the white-headed raptors had landed on a branch for better binocular viewing.

Compensating to some degree for the paucity of eagles was an abundance of other birds. We saw a dozen or more loons, enough of these handsome creatures that Spilman was inspired to joke, “Maybe we should change the name of these tours from ‘Eagle Lake Cruise’ to ‘Loon Lake Cruise.’”

Several of the loons cruising on the water showed why they are known in England as “divers” — by abruptly plunging underwater in pursuit of a fish. We didn’t hear any loon making the species’ characteristic plaintive sound, which is possibly a source of their name, derived from an Old Norse word for “lament.”

Other avian species pointed out by Spilman included Canada geese, mergansers, grebes, coots, bufflehead ducks and one great blue heron. A book of photographs aboard the boat helped the non-birders among us get a better sense of what we were seeing.

Roughly 80 percent of the eagles that winter around 8,900-acre Lake Maumelle are migratory, Spilman told us, with the rest living here yearround. They hang around the lake for an obvious reason, as he pointed out: fish are their prime source of food.

There seem to be fewer visiting eagles this winter, he noted, with the likely reason being the generally warmer weather in the Upper Midwest, their summer habitat.

Along with pointing out the aquatic birds, Spilman served up a potpourri of information about man-made Lake Maumelle, which was completed in 1958 as the principal source of drinking water for the Little Rock area. Fishing and limited boating are permitted on the lake, he pointed out. But swimming, wading and some kinds of watercraft are prohibited.

Although we saw only that single bald eagle on Saturday, it was heartening to know that more than a thousand of these birds adorning the Great Seal of the United States winter in Arkansas in a typical year.

That’s an impressively large number, considering that the species faced extinction in the 1950s, when fewer than 500 nesting pairs were thought to remain in the lower 48 states. Current estimates count more than 10,000 breeding pairs, and the bald eagle remains comfortably perched as America’s signature bird.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park has Eagle Lake Cruises scheduled for 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, leaving from Jolly Rogers Marina off Arkansas 10 just west of the the park. Reservation and advance payment are required. The fee is $15 for adults, $8 for children 6 to 12. Call (501) 8685806 or visit pinnaclemountain@arkansas.com.

Eagle-watch tours are conducted at a half-dozen other state parks, including Lake Ouachita, Lake Dardanelle, Lake Catherine, Hobbs and Cane Creek. At DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Jan. 29-31 will be the 37th annual Eagles Et Cetera weekend. For details, visit arkansas.com.