Annual eagle watch at Wolf Lodge Bay begins

Eagles are returning to North Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene in their annual feeding migration to gorge themselves on kokanee salmon.

Biologists on Wednesday reported spotting 111 eagles — 105 adults and 6 juveniles, compared to last years when Bureau of Land Management biologists counted 110 eagles at the northern end of the lake.

The eagles feed on kokanee salmon — a landlocked version of red, or sockeye salmon, that spawn and die each year in the lake’s northern end near Wolf Lodge and Beauty bays.

The BLM began counting bald eagles around Wolf Lodge Bay in 1974. The number of returning eagles varies from year to year.

For more details on weekly counts, view the BLM website under eagle watch.

— Ralph Bartholdt