Eagle count soars

COEUR d’ALENE — Carrie Hugo has been counting bald eagles around Lake Coeur d'Alene for the Bureau of Land Management for 15 years.

None like this year.

“I was really not expecting so many eagles this year,” she said Tuesday.

But they’re out there in record numbers. Hundreds of them. In trees. Gliding with the wind. Soaring high to catch the sunlight or swooping low to snag a kokanee on the surface of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Using binoculars, Hugo counted 363 adult bald eagles and 46 juveniles for a total of 409 on Dec. 20. The prior week, she counted 339 adults and 40 juveniles for a total of 379. Both broke the previous record of 372 set Dec. 7, 2017.

The biologist said it’s been a banner year for photographers and eagle lovers as the great birds have stayed around since beginning to arrive in early November thanks to abundant kokanee and mild weather.

“They’ll stay as long as the kokanee are spawning,” Hugo said.

She said she has never seen the shorelines near Higgens Point, Wolf Lodge Bay and Beauty Bay so littered with dead kokanee.

But the spawning is tailing off and by early January their numbers are expected to decline. Only a few will remain by mid-January.

“The eagles should start leaving pretty quick here,” Hugo said.

Bald eagles generally have been more active on the south side of the lake than Higgens Point giving Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises guests a good view. But on Saturday, with sunshine and blue skies, the eagles seemed to be everywhere, perched on snags, gliding over Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive and flying high. Two eagles were playing, chasing each other, turning and cutting between trees along Interstate 90 next to Higgens Point.

Steven Peak has snapped many pictures of eagles this year.

“I for one have not seen as many eagles on the north side of the lake along East Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive toward Higgens Point this year over past years,” Peak wrote. “I think that there are more eagles here this year. The exception is that the eagles seem to be mostly hanging out on the south side of the lake by the summer homes.”

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, kokanee salmon are a food source for migrating bald eagles. 

“Hundreds of bald eagles typically use Coeur d’Alene Lake as a stopping location to rest and feed on spawning kokanee before continuing their winter migration,” Fish and Game’s website said. “In years with fewer adult kokanee, there are generally fewer bald eagles than in years with many adult kokanee."

According to Fish and Game, when kokanee abundance is high, fish size is small. When kokanee abundance is low, fish size is large. 

“This occurs because the amount of food available changes based on the number of kokanee. In years with lots of kokanee, the fish compete for a limited food supply and slowly grow,” Fish and Game said. “In years with fewer kokanee, food is more plentiful and fish grow faster. In 2020, Lake Coeur d’Alene supported a lower abundance of adult kokanee that grew exceptionally well."

Hugo said they seem about average this year.

“The kokanee seem to be around that 10-inch size you would expect them to be,” she said.

There are so many kokanee this year Hugo said she’s hasn’t seen bald eagles fighting over fish. Juvenile eagles will sometimes harass older eagles for a fish just for fun, Hugo said.

“There’s plenty so they can take it easy,” she said.

Hugo said BLM has had the same route for counting eagles for about 40 years and it’s the one she’ll be following this morning. It starts near Silver Beach Marina with several stops and takes more than two hours. It includes Bennett Bay, Beacon Point, Higgens Point, Blue Creek Bay via Yellowstone Trail and Wolf Lodge Bay.

She said she once counted 18 eagles in a tree across Lake Coeur d’Alene from Beacon Point.

“Every time I go it’s still pretty awesome,” Hugo said. “They’re fun to watch.”

The eagles come to North Idaho from British Columbia on their annual migration. From here, they'll head south to the Snake River basin and Utah. Some will fly to Klamath Basin.

Hugo said she often receives calls from Montana residents asking if it’s a good time to come see eagles. This year, she’s been happy to tell them yes. She said this weekend there should be hundreds of eagles still around, perhaps in the cottonwoods near the Mineral Ridge trailhead. And it could be a great show.

“We're lucky to live here,” Hugo said.

    An eagle snares a kokanee from Lake Coeur d'Alene in this recent photograph.
  

    Bald eagles dot the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene in this recent photo by Steven Peak.