Great Day of Eagle Counting

On Saturday March 8th, the final bald eagle count of the winter was conducted by volunteer eagle observers and local Federal and State biologists around several lakes in the southern California. A grand total of nine eagles (7 adults and 2 juveniles) were observed at the lake areas during the 1- hour count. Five bald eagles (4 adults and 1 juvenile) were observed at Big Bear Lake; 1 juvenile eagle at Lake Arrowhead; 2 adult eagles at Silverwood Lake; 1 adult eagle at Lake Hemet; 0 eagles at Lake Gregory and 0 at Lake Perris. Juvenile eagles are distinguished by a brown head and tail; adults are recognized by the famous white head and tail - it takes 4-5 years to acquire full adult coloration. Juvenile eagles are the same size as the adults. Approximately 191 observers participated in the 1-hour eagle census (57 at Big Bear area, 20 at Lake Arrowhead/Lake Gregory, 68 at Silverwood Lake, 19 at Lake Hemet, and 37 at Lake Perris. The count coordinators from the Forest Service and State Recreation Areas would like to thank those volunteers for their dedication in getting up early and participating in the eagle census. The success of the eagle counts is entirely dependent on the volunteers! We’ve had a great season with fantastic turnouts of volunteers (and bald eagles)! Bald eagle counts have been conducted at some of sites since 1978 and all of the sites have been participating since around 2000. Four monthly counts are conducted between December and March to estimate the number of bald eagles that are wintering in the area. The highest numbers are typically in February and March. It was a beautiful day for spotting eagles and was a great way to end our winter eagle censuses. Many of the bald eagles have started migrating out of southern California, heading north to their breeding grounds. A few breeding pairs have set up nesting territories and are year-round residents. A pair of bald eagles is tending their nest at Lake Hemet. Big Bear Lake’s nesting pair hatched two chicks in early February but, unfortunately, they did not survive last week’s severe storm.