Eagle count soars
A bald eagle glides above Lake Coeur d'Alene near Higgens Point last week.
Kevin Dockter photo
A free eagle program sponsored by the Coeur d'Alene Audubon Society and the Idaho Department of Lands is scheduled 6 p.m. Monday in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library Community Room.
Carrie Hugo, who does the annual bald eagle counts for the Bureau of Land Management, will present information about the seasonal population change of the eagles. She will explain why they come here and why this area is important to them.
Ted Smith, president of the Cd'A Audubon Society, will present information about reproductive biology, heir distribution throughout North America, migration patterns and some of the political history and controversy surrounding them.
Bald eagles arrive in Coeur d'Alene in early November and stick around a few months to feed on spawning kokanee in Lake Coeur d'Alene. Higgens Point and Mineral Ridge are prime viewing areas.
The Nov. 13 eagle count totaled 79, with 64 adults and 15 juveniles, Hugo said. That's well up from last year's count of 29 near the same date.
Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises offers eagle-watching cruises to Wolf Lodge Bay.