Counting bald eagle nests

Bald eagle survey counts reveal one of wildlife's greatest comeback stories

She could see the two chicks strutting back and forth high above the Clark Fork River in their nest; a large jumbled mess of sticks and twigs. She had a great view of the babies as they clumsily waddled around their nest carrying sticks back and forth and can see how they have little personalities of their own.

The chicks are baby bald eagles and as Tempe Regan, a wildlife biologist working in the Lolo National Forest, surveys the nests along the Clark Fork River, she can appreciate not only the cute baby bald eagles, but their very presence that serves as a testament to one of nature's greatest comeback stories.

Being viewed as vermin and a menacing bird of prey throughout the 1800s and the first half of the 20th century, bald eagle populations in the lower 48 states were decimated to the point where only 417 nests were found by a National Audubon Society Survey in 1963. Then in 1978, the bald eagle was classified as endangered in all but a handful of states where they were listed as threatened. This led to a dramatic increase in the population between 1984 and 1994 where breeding pair numbers in the Western United States rose from 479 pairs to 1,192.

In 1995, the species' classification was lowered to threatened and then taken off the list completely in June of 2007.

"That's always exciting. I mean I wasn't around, alive or aware that eagles were endangered," Regan said. "That was before my time. There were no nests along the Clark Fork River in this area in the early nineties. There were no eagles. There were no babies, so it's cool to witness an endangered species make a successful recovery and to be able to come out and count fledgling eagles."

For the past week, Regan has been driving through the Superior and Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District conducting fledgling counts. It is the second count of bald eagle nests for the Forest Service done late in the spring when the chicks have all their feathers and are nearing the time when they can fly out of the nests.

Accurate nest counts taken by organizations like the Lolo National Forest Service were crucial in the de-listing of bald eagles and although it has been three years since the bird was taken off the list, it's still important for accurate counts to be taken at least one full generation of the birds in order to ensure that the population is fully recovered. The average lifespan of bald eagles are 10 to 18 years.

As Regan conducted her counts last week, she had the luxury of relying on the information of past survey takers. She used a map marked with the 15 or so bald eagle nests in the two ranger districts and had a list of clues giving information on how to find the nests. Still, it can be quite a challenging process to locate the more obscure nests. Using binoculars she'll peer across the river, scanning the tree line looking for either the distinctive white heads of the parents or a tall Ponderosa Pine or Cottonwood tree that would make a perfect place for a bald eagle home.

One nest in particular had been lost for at least three years after the parents rebuilt their nest in a new tree. Every year, survey takers would spot the parents, but never the nest until this year when Regan stumbled upon it unexpectedly.

She was walking along the riverbank following one of the parents who had flown downstream when she heard the parents start whistling. Regan then looked up and saw the nest just 30 yards in front of her.

"I was feeling thrilled, elated and kind of surprised that I found it, but the birds kind of led me to it. I was just walking along the riverbank," Regan.

It was a welcome surprise and further evidence of a great comeback for the nation's bird, the majestic bald eagle.