The bald eagles are back and ready to roost - East Idaho News
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The bald eagles are back and ready to roost

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“When are we going to head west to Camas, I’m tired of eating ducks?”

I imagined the female of a pair of bald eagles resting on a perch near the Henrys Fork of the Snake River near St. Anthony.

“At least we can visit there to see if the food is any good.”

“We will go when it gets a little colder and the cows start calving and the sheep start dropping their lambs. I don’t much care for road-killed jackrabbits,” replied the male eagle.

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The middle of February traditionally is the time when the greatest number of bald eagles gather each evening in the mature cottonwoods near the headquarters of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge.

Usually from 50 to 70 start gathering in January at the refuge but this year has been different.

“We have had some nights of up to 40 with most evenings only from 10 to 20 show up this year,” Brian Wehausen, manager of Camas NWR, said. “I thought we would have an influx once the calving and lambing started but we are still having low numbers.”

Ten days ago, I went out to observe the eagle come in but only saw 11 of them come to roost so this week, after several cold nights, I went back out on Wednesday and 24 came in. A couple from Idaho Falls was also there watching and told me that last year they had 61 show up.

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This year we have not had the bitter cold temperatures nearing 20 degrees below zero that usually coincides with the gathering of the large numbers, but many areas of the Henrys Fork have been frozen over for almost a month. With the area rivers frozen before the calving and lambing operations started, the eagles may have moved to other areas where meals can be found.

There are smaller groups of bald eagles gathering in different places in the Upper Snake River Valley. A farmer who lives east of Rexburg on the South Fork of the Teton River informed me that he has “a dozen roosting in a tree on my farm.”

There is a large contingent of eagles in the Magic Valley near Hagerman which may be part of the ones missing from Camas.

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Annually the Friends of Camas holds a “Come to Roost” activity at Camas on a Saturday evening, but it will not be hosted this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the refuge is encouraging guests to come any evening from Feb. 13-28 to watch the eagles come into roost. A parking area near the shed has been cleared of snow for parking areas for guests to watch for the birds to come in which is usually from 4:30 to sundown each evening.

Pairs of the eagles who nest in the area, including the pair at Camas, have been observed working on their nests and the breeding rituals have already started. The aerial acrobatics of these huge birds are always interesting to watch as they lock their talons together or pass sticks or food items from one to another.

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Also be aware that spring is just around the corner and March 5 is usually the average arrival of the Sandhill cranes, March 10 the arrival of Tundra and migrating Trumpeter swans, and March 15 for the huge flocks of Snow geese to show up. These are about a month away.

In the meantime, I will be enjoying the eagles and the Great gray owls before they move back to the mountains. The Great-horned owls are really noisy as their breeding time is in full swing.

Living the Wild Life is brought to you by The Healing Sanctuary.

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