Bald Eagles

With The possibility of Nesting Bald Eagles on the lake, I thought some information about viewing etiquette was important.

EAGLE VIEWING ETIQUETTE

(And any other nesting bird)
.

There are few sights more thrilling than a bald eagle at its nest or in action along a shoreline. Responsibilities come with this enjoyment. As you enjoy eagles, you must ensure your pres-ence and behavior do not have a detrimental effect on the eagles or their future use of the area. Eagle nests and young eagles are easily disturbed. By causing a premature fledging, you can inadvertently cause injury or death of an eaglet that can not yet fly or defend itself. In the cold winter, energy is a very valuable commodity for eagles. Flushing eagles from a roost site or a feeding ground causes unnecessary stress and may expose the eagle to additional predators. So please keep your distance from eagle nests and roosts. Respect their space. Enjoy their presence at a distance with good optics. Please consider the following general etiquette guidelines for avoiding eagle disturbances:

Stay back! Keep at least 1,000 feet from an active nest, roost, or feeding area. Use optics like binoculars or a telescope to view the eagles at a distance.

Quiet please! If you must talk, whisper.

Cover up! Use your vehicle or boat as a blind; eagles often are more alarmed by pedestrians.

Be cool! Avoid sudden movements — and movements directly toward the eagles or the nest — while on foot or in a vehicle or boat.

No flushing! Don’t make the birds fly. Flushing an eagle off a nest may expose the eggs or young eaglets to cold or wet weather or a nest predator. It also wastes precious energy and may cause them to leave a valuable meal behind or abandon a nest that they are constructing.

Pay attention! Watch how the eagle reacts to your presence – if it acts agitated, vocalizes repeatedly, or starts moving away, you are too close!

Stay out! Respect restricted zones. They protect eagle nesting areas. And you’re breaking state and federal laws if you enter them.

Privacy please! Respect the privacy of the landowner. Don’t tell everyone about a new eagle nest. It will attract people to nesting areas who will not use proper etiquette and other unnecessary attention to a nest. If you unexpectedly stumble onto an eagle nest, or hear an eagle vocalizing overhead, leave immediately and quietly.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Did You Know?

Eagles are opportunistic in their feeding habits. Average daily food consumption is from 250 – 550 grams per day, or between 5 – 10% of their body weight Fish is the number one food type

An eagle’s eye is almost as large as a human’s, but its sharpness is a least four time that of a person with perfect vision. That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.

Bald eagles are capable of seeing fish in the water from several hundred feet above while soaring, gliding, or in flapping flight. They locate and catch dead fish much more rapidly and efficiently than live fish, because dead fish float with their light underside facing up.

Bald Eagles have defined seasonal habitat requirements. In the winter, they are attracted to areas of open water that support their preferred prey (fish, small mammals and waterfowl)

While bald eagles are not easily disturbed by noise they can be spooked by people walking near their nesting tree.  It’s important for people not to try to get near the nest so the birds have a chance at a successful hatching.

Eagles will have about two chances to successfully mate. It takes about 35 days for eggs to hatch.

To see eagles at their different stages of development follow this link HERE