Watch for bald eagles in the winter sky

            Look up to the skies this winter to spot the seven-foot wingspan of a soaring bald eagle at an eagle watch near you. Seventeen locations all across the state offer more than 50 chances to see the nation’s emblem in the wild.
            As lakes in the northern U.S. and Midwest freeze, eagles migrate south to find open water and food.  Oklahoma has more miles of shoreline than the east and west coasts combined.  The amount of water in Oklahoma makes it one of the top 10 states in the nation for winter eagle viewing.
            “Oklahoma has over 100 bald eagles that live here year-round, including 49 known breeding pairs,” said Lesley McNeff, wildlife diversity information specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.  “During the winter, Oklahoma is host to anywhere from 700 to 1,500 eagles statewide.  The numbers peak in January and February, with the highest concentration of birds located at lakes.  Popular viewing sites include Kaw, Texoma, Tenkiller, Ft. Gibson, Grand, Canton, Great Salt Plains and Tishomingo.”
            McNeff said that between 1985 and 1990, the Department’s Wildlife Diversity Program began an initiative to restore breeding eagle populations in Oklahoma, and the George M. Sutton Avian Research Center assisted with the release of 90 eaglets in eastern Oklahoma, including 59 birds in 1990 alone.
            Biologists transported eggs from Florida bald eagle nests to the Sutton Center in Bartlesville. About nine weeks after hatching, the young eagles were placed in hacking towers and eventually released into the wild with the hopes that they would return as adults and raise their young in the state.
            Since those efforts, bald eagle populations in Oklahoma increase each year. While no pairs of nesting eagles existed in the state in 1990, Oklahoma currently has 49 nesting pairs.
            Eagle watches are hosted by state parks, lake management offices, national wildlife refuges and local Audubon Societies. Event activities will vary. Most events are free.  The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation annually compiles a list of events to help Oklahomans discover where to view this majestic bird. For more information or to view the list, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.
 
-30-