SCHIESS: Celebrating 'Eagle Motel' at Camas Wildlife Refuge - East Idaho News
Living the Wild Life

SCHIESS: Celebrating ‘Eagle Motel’ at Camas Wildlife Refuge

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Watching, as the bald eagles as they returned to their motel room after spending the day searching area restaurants for their preferred food, was an impressive sight. As they flew in others would vocally greet them as they searched for a comfortable place to spend the night.

“Right now we are having from 90 to 100 of these magnificent birds show up every night and then leave before daylight,” Brian Wehausen, manager of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge. “This year the increase is more than twice what we have ever seen.”

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

No, it is not an eagle population explosion, but Wehausen thinks it is the population explosion of jackrabbits surrounding the Refuge causing the increase. Personnel of the refuge do an official count each week during the winter and with all the food left by rabbit hunters and also the fur lined roads, the counts have been big since early December.

The Friends of Camas will be holding their second annual “Come to Roost at Camas” activity at the Camas NWR next Saturday, February 25, from 4 p.m. until dark.

Free hot chocolate will be served and spotting scopes will be set up for visitors to watch the eagles in the cottonwoods as they socialize.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

“We are encouraging anyone to come and enjoy the evening,” said Wehausen. “Last year we ran out of hot chocolate, but will not this year and we will have birding experts there to discuss what it going on with the birds.”

Prior to 2008, about 30 percent of the birds were immature. Then for eight years, the adults dominated those coming to the refuge, but this year almost half of them are immature. Wehausen is not sure why, but the availability of food may be the main reason for the abundance of both adults and young birds.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

Last summer was the second season that a pair of eagles raised two young on the refuge near where the eagles are coming to roost. They are among the nightly visitors and have already been seen visiting the nest and have started their courting rituals among the cottonwoods.

“There is an interaction between the roosting eagles,” said Wehausen. “When one comes in with a full crop, the rest know it and will probably follow it the next day.”

Feeding areas may be as far away as the Snake River for fish and waterfowl as well as local lambing and calving operations, winter-killed big game and jackrabbits left by hunters are the main supply of food.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

The winter migration of bald eagles usually peaks in February and ends by early April when waterfowl migration starts.
Golden eagles are more hunters than scavengers, earning their living by killing and eating jackrabbits.

In early January seven Goldens set up camp on the refuge and harvested jackrabbits along the auto-route that run between the ponds of the refuge. With high snow and the open marshes, the rabbit were forced to move to the thick sage and brush on the edge or completely off the refuge.

Anyone in the Upper Snake River Valley who would like to watch the eagles needs to come to the “Come to Roost at Camas” outing where they can learn a lot more about our national bird.

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