The eagles are out there

You may not see them if you drive to Higgens Point, but the bald eagles are out there. Lots of them. You just have look a little harder.

“They don't seem to be hanging right close to the road like they do,” said Carrie Hugo, Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist. 

In her latest weekly eagle count Wednesday morning, Hugo spotted 237 mature eagles and 24 immature eagles, which is a little above average for this time of year. 

She said the eagles seem to be staying away from popular viewing places like Higgens Point and the Mineral Ridge trailhead, which might make folks looking for them think there aren’t many around. 

That’s why she said it’s important to bring binoculars, as you’ll likely spot eagles across the lake, on the south side, in trees and far from the crowds and traffic. 

“There's tons of them,” Hugo said. “I feel this year they’re not up close as other years.” 

The eagles feed on the spawning kokanee in Lake Coeur d'Alene, of which there are plenty, Hugo said. 

“It's really good this year,” she said. 

With warmer weather, temperatures in the 30s, plenty of kokanee the eagles don’t claim are lining the shoreline.

“You can smell them,” Hugo said. 

She expects more eagles to continue to arrive and put on good displays of their speed and agility, with their peak numbers expected to be around mid- to late-December. 

“It should be another really good week,” Hugo said. 

Last year, on Dec. 20, Hugo counted a record 409 eagles. The week before, on Dec. 14, she counted 379. 

The Lake Coeur d'Alene bald eagle population will decline after Christmas as they begin to head south to the Snake River Plain in Idaho, the Klamath Basin in California and even to Utah. 

“Anywhere they can get along lakes and rivers that don't freeze,” Hugo said. 

She said early mornings before crowds arrive and mid-afternoon as eagles “get that last fish of the day before it's too dark to see anymore” can be good viewing times.