Eagle celebration soars into new territory
Have you seen a bald eagle lately? If you live in Wisconsin, chances are good that you have.
In fact the odds may be better now than at any time in the last 75 years.
My most recent live eagle sighting was about two weeks ago as I fished along the Milwaukee River in Estabrook Park in Milwaukee.
As I picked my head up from tying a knot, there it was: big and beefy, wings outstretched, soaring south over the river corridor.
When it comes to identifying birds, you don't need to be the second coming of Noel Cutright, the late, great Wisconsin ornithologist, to know an adult bald eagle when you see it.
Its white head, white tail feathers and large size set it apart.
To our collective good fortune, after a decades-long recovery it's also a sight that's increasingly common in the Badger State, even in southeastern Wisconsin.
And this year, thanks to a change in the format of a popular bald eagle celebration, you'll have a new in-home option.
The 35th annual Bald Eagle Watching Days in the Sauk Prairie area will be held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which began Saturday and has been held since 1987, typically draws thousands of people in January to Prairie du Sac and Sauk City on the Wisconsin River. It is sponsored by the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce and Tripp Heritage Museum.
People still can travel to the area to view eagles in the wild, of course.
But they will also be treated to all of the event's normal programming through live and recorded sessions posted to the FBEC's website.
That will include videos of releases of eagles rehabilitated by Marge Gibson and the staff at Raptor Education Group Incorporated (REGI) in Antigo, raptor shows offered by Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Bayside and presentations on eagles by experts.
Some portions will even offer question-and-answer sessions.
In addition, the council has prepared guided online tours eagle viewers can use to travel the roads along the Wisconsin River as they look for birds.
The links and schedule for all programming can be found on the FBEC website at ferrybluffeaglecouncil.org.
"We had to decide how to do things differently this year," said Sumner Matteson, DNR avian ecologist. "I'll miss the in-person engagement with the public, but I think it's great they will have access to the event virtually."
Matteson knows a thing or two about Bald Eagle Watching Days. He has been at the event each year since its inception, often positioned at the overlook on the river in Prairie du Sac to interact with the public and share his expertise.
He has photos with wildlife viewers he developed friendships with over the last 35 years, including Janet and Ron Wendling, who have been coming annually since 1993.
"These human connections are a rich part of the eagle recovery," Matteson said. "And they highlight how the public continues to play a significant role in our eagle management in the state."
Bald Eagle Watching Days started in 1987 to highlight the growing comeback of the big birds after their listing as an endangered species in the 1970s.
Like other raptors, through the middle 20th century eagles experienced widespread reproductive failure due to accumulation of DDT, a pesticide. The chemical caused the birds to lay thinshelled eggs that broke during incubation.
Once DDT was banned, first in Wisconsin and then nationally, and with added protections under state and federal endangered species laws as well as improved environmental conditions, eagle numbers began to stabilize and then increase.
Bald eagles were removed from the state endangered species list in 1997 and the federal list a decade later.
The chart of occupied eagle nests in Wisconsin shows an increase that would make any financial advisor envious.
The number of nests has grown from 108 in 1973 to nearly 1,700 in 2019, according to the DNR. The DNR did not conduct its normal nest count in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest report also included this nugget: From 2018 to 2019, eagle nests in southeast Wisconsin increased from 47 to 60, an eye-grabbing 28%.
Milwaukee County is the only county in the state yet to have a documented eagle nest.
That day may not be far off, according to Matteson.
"As the population increases, more and more eagles move into new areas looking for new nesting territories," Matteson said.
Observations and reports by the public have been extremely helpful to the department as it tracks eagle nesting, especially new sites.
The DNR has an eagle nest reporting and monitoring program. Madison Audubon Society and the 1,000 Islands Environmental Center also have a Bald Eagle Nest Watch program.
This time of year is ripe for eagle viewing.
In winter, the raptors typically congregate along open water areas on the Wisconsin, Mississippi and Fox rivers.
This time of year conditions in the Sauk Prairie area along the Wisconsin River "hit on all cylinders" for eagles. First, the dam at Prairie du Sac keeps a significant portion of the Wisconsin River from freezing, allowing the bird access to food sources in the water, typically fish such as gizzard shad.
The area also features communal roost sites in trees on bluffs adjacent to the river that provide a safe place for eagles to sleep at night. In addition, the undeveloped river shoreline allows for undisturbed feeding and nearby agricultural lands provide open space where carrion can be found.
The birds often shift their distribution as snow and ice conditions vary during winter, according to the FBEC.
When ice is abundant on the river or snow is deep in agricultural areas, eagles can be found primarily in the upriver stretch from the Prairie du Sac Dam to the river area near Mazomanie.
During warmer weather, when little ice is found on the river or snow in agricultural areas, eagles tend to concentrate along the river from Mazomanie to Lone Rock.
Matteson, a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, said one silver lining to the virtual format of this year's Bald Eagle Watching Days is flexibility.
"There is no reason a playoff game this year should pose a conflict between eagle viewing and cheering on the Pack," Matteson said. "There's time to love them both."
As a sample of the virtual programming for Bald Eagle Watching Days, Saturday will feature a live Birds of Prey Show at 1 p.m. with raptors at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, followed at 2:30 with a live presentation titled "Wintering Ecology of Eagles in the Lower Wisconsin Riverway" by Jeb Barzen, president of Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, and at 2:45 by a recorded piece on Old Abe, Wisconsin's Civil War bald eagle.
All the live content will be recorded and posted to the FBEC website.
"Thirty-five years ago we wouldn't have dreamed a virtual eagle watching days would be available," Matteson said. "But it's a new world and I hope the public finds it valuable. I know public support for eagles over these last few decades has been invaluable for the department and the birds."