Bald Eagle in Mating Crash May Get to Go Outside

Alaska bird rescuer Cindy Palmatier won't know for a month if the eagle that plunged into the snow while clutching her mate will ever fly again. Cindy Palmatier, director of avian care at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, says the eagle did get bandages off one wing and may get to go outside Wednesday or Thursday.


The eagle pair became national news after they locked talons in their courtship dance on Easter morning and didn't let go in time. Normally they swing each other around, then break free. This time, at least one of them miscalculated and they crashed into the snow in Valdez. The male died on impact. Bob Benda, a biology professor, was on of the first on the scene and thought the female was dead, too, then noticed she was breathing.

Benda kept the bird overnight in a crate and again thought she died, the Valdez Star reports. In the morning he was happy to see her alive and got her flown to Anchorage.

I had wondered if the eagle might be pregnant, but Palmatier doesn't think so. The aerial spiral is normally a prelude to mating, she says. "I've never had an eagle lay an egg," she says. "If animals are stress they tend to just reabsorb the pregnancy," she said. And they treat 800 birds a year, 50 of which are eagles, she's had plenty of chances to see egg laying if it weren't so unlikely with these distressed birds.

Palmatier, who's also a vet tech, says the eagles they get fall into three categories: toxins (often from eating at the garbage dump), starvation (especially this time of year, before the salmon run) and trauma. Trauma can include anything from fighting with each other to getting hit by cars. They're currently getting a lot of emaciated patients because the winter was mild for moose and caribou, so there are few carcasses around to eat. Once again, our national bird becomes a lot less majestic once we learn the details of its lifestyle.

If the eagle is lucky, she'll recover from her head trauma and wing injury and get released in Valdez. If not, she'll become a permanent resident somewhere, if not the center.

The Bird Treatment and Learning Center has 30 birds that do educational displays for the public, but only four live at the center. The rest are farmed out to qualified volunteers who have built an enormous cage--often the size of a house. Interestingly, Palmatier says the state of Alaska doesn't let people rehab mammals--aside from a handful of big game babies that may go to the zoo.

Check out the Bird Treatment and Learning Center

Where to Go to See Eagles

Go to See Eagles

Only 9 Eagles Show for Chicago's Closest Eagle Watch

Only about nine eagles were on hand for the 3,000 visitors who showed up for the closest eagle watch to Chicago, Eagle Watch Weekend at Starved Rock. Last year, 50 were there for the weekend and 115 spotted on the peak February day.

"I think most people got to see at least one eagle in the wild, which is better than seeing one on TV," said Kevin Eubank, the head ranger at the dam where you do most eagle viewing. Plus, they had a live bird of prey demonstration, so people got to see one up close, too. Edna Daugherty, who was driving the trolley for Starved Rock Lodge, said that eagles were out off and on all day.

The northern states have had slim eagle viewing this year. In 2009 the mid-winter Illinois eagle survey showed lousy results. First the cold weather seemed to drive birds further south. Now some rivers aren't frozen at all, meaning the raptors don't have to concentrate in one spot. The fish they like are in slim supply this year. And, on top of everything else, it's foggy. The local paper The News Tribune says presciently that eagle-watching has "never been much of an activity for serious birders." Maybe that's why it's so fun: It's relatively easy these days because eagle populations have recovered and the birds are big, obvious, and thrilling to watch. Six states have eagle watches this weekend: AL, IL, WA, MO, OK and TN.

If anything, I feel even better about my visit to the dam a few weeks ago, when we saw about seven birds. I think it should encourage people who maybe can't come out during the special events to try to see them another time.

Where to see eagles around the country

Who celebrates Eagle Days: when and where

10 States Celebrate King Weekend With Bald Eagle Watches

This weekend 10 states have eagle-watching festivities over King Weekend. And that doesn't count three more states (OR, NY, NJ) that have eagles right over a river on their border. The recent cold spell seems to be pushing eagles further south. Northern states are reporting slow seasons while those in Alabama and Kentucky are having strong years.

Where are the Eagle Viewing Spots Around the Country?
See the Full Calendar of Eagle-Viewing Events for 2010

Dates State And where is that? Peak Number of Eagles Details Jan 8-Feb 7 AL Lake Guntersville SP The area gets more than 100, but tours see about 15-35 Eagle Awareness Weekends offer accessible viewing spots to see where eagles nest and hunt. Eagle experts (some with live birds) give talks inside the lodge, too. Mid Jan-Feb CA-OR Lower Klamath Basin on the CA-OR Border 500 The Lower Kalmath Basin National Wildlife Refuge gets up to 500 bald eagles each winter. According to the refuge, the birds arrive in November but the best viewing is in January and February along the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath auto tours. Lower Klamath is the country's first waterfowl refuge. Over a million birds visit for the winter, including white pelicans, Pintail, gadwall, and canvasback ducks. You may also see Sandhill Cranes and antelope. You can make a reservation to use one of their photography blinds. Jan 16 - 17 IA Keokuk, IA's Dam 19, near the intersection of IA, IL and MO Try Main Street or 4th and Morgan 400 - 700 Bald Eagle Appreciation Days helps you watch the biggest eagle population on the Mississippi. Rangers will be out with spotting scopes and there are talks nearby related to ducks and osprey. Every Jan Sat IL Alton 100 - 1,000, plus one in the visitor's center Eagle Meet and GreetGo to the visitor's center to see an eagle demonstration and get some advice on where on the river to see the eagles. KY KY Dam (Dale Hollow (7-8 eagles) canceled this weekend because of barge troubles) About 350 in the area, 150 on Land Between Lakes Eagle Watch Weekends At events around the state, you may be able to go out on barges, yachts or vans, Jan 16  and/or 17 MO Truman Lake, Old Chain of Rocks Bridge,Columbia Bottom Confluence Varies across the state, but 2,000 eagles winter in Missouri has Missouri Eagle Days Events around the state, some with live eagles Jan 16, 17 PA (NY,NJ) Delaware Water Gap: Biggest Eagle Population in the Northeast 150 - 200 Eagle Watch Weekend The Eagle Institute has programs to to help you see the eagles on the river and not bother them. Check local listing OK Kaw City Com. Center &; Kaw Nation Tribal Museum Ultimate Eagle Watch The Kaw Nation leads tours and has a day of eagle activities. Salt Plains NWR, Quartz Mt, Lake Thunderbird. Chickasaw NRA Eagle Watch Sequoyah St. Pk. Eagle Tour and Loon Watch Jan 2-Feb 28 TN Reelfoot Lake St Pk, near the Mississippi by KY average of 100 Eagle Tour Bus tours go out at 10 am all week, with another tour at 1:30 on weekends Jan 15 and 16 WI Sauk City and Praire du Sac, north of Madison 101 roost count Eagle Watching Days You can see them by bus or car or got to eagle events

20 States Host Bald Eagle Festivals; Six This Weekend. Is There A Bald Eagle Near You?

See the full 2010 Eagle Calendar

In January and February rivers freeze and bald eagles have to come down from Canada to visit us. To capitalize on the event, Audubon clubs and parks around the country hold Bald Eagle Days or Festivals to give people a chance to see our national bird in places they haven't been seen in generations. Within a couple hours of New York, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, you can see eagles.

Twenty states have bald eagle festivals, although two have cancelled this year because of the recession. The Upper Skagit Eagle Festival in WA and the CT Eagle Festival won't be held this year. The eagles still show up, you just don't get the luxury treatment, which usually entails scopes and hot chocolate. CT Audubon even still has $40 boat tours.

Current Eagle Festivals: AL, AK, AR, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, MD, NJ, NY, OK, PA, TN, TX, UT and WI


We've got six bald eagle events this weekend. We don't just have a national bald eagle day because they show up at different times around the country. The peak for eagle days is the first weekend in February, with 11 states having eagle-watching events.

See the 2010 Calendar of Eagle Events
Where to See Eagles Yearound

Eagle Season Begins in Illinois

Bald Eagle Hunting above Starved Rock.

When I grew up in Illinois, seeing a bald eagle would have been impossible or at least fantastic. On January 2, my family and I drove just two hours outside Chicago and got to see seven bald eagles fishing on the Illinois River by Starved Rock State Park. More regular guests, jaded by appearances of over 100 eagles, walked away disappointed. We couldn't have been more delighted.

Now Illinois brags that it has the most bald eagles of any (continential) state. Alaska blows everybody away with 50% of the world's population of 70,000, according to Bald Eagle Info.  Haliaeetus leucocephalus only lives in North America and Ireland. The bird was upgraded from endangered to threatened in 1995, then totally bumped off the endangered species list in 2007, thanks largely to cracking down on poachers and DDT. The IUCN, which rates how vulnerable animals are, now dismissively says the bald eagle is of "least concern."

The Mississippi River is where most Illinois eagles hang out and where most eagle-watching hotspots are, but Starved Rock is by far the closest place to Chicagoland. The number of eagles that visit the area has been climbing steadily since people started counting 15 years ago and no one knows how high it might go. (The eagle population is thought to have once been 100,000.)

Kevin Eubank, the head ranger at the dam where you do most eagle viewing, says the numbers hit a peak last February with 115. They're coming down from Wisconsin and Canada, attracted by the open water the dam creates so they can fish. They strongly prefer fish, but Eubank says they've been seen eating roadkill deer, too. The jumping Asian carp are too big for them, he says. Which is a shame: how much would you like to see a bunch of eagles snatching invasive jumping fish from the water? During the day the eagles have a favorite tree on an island in the river, leading to some surreal photos of a tree full of eagles. At night they roost in the park's canyon's to get shelter from the wind.

"The colder the weather, the better," says Eubank. Well, then, it looks like it's going to be another great bald eagle season.

More places to see eagles
See more animals around Illinois and the Midwest

STARVED ROCK EAGLE OPTIONS:
OUTDOOR: You can see the eagles from Starved Rock itself, but that's up a lot of icy stairs outside. It's still worth it, though. An eagle cirlced right over us. From the visitor's center, you can walk out to the river on flat ground and see the eagles on their favorite tree.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR: You have indoor/outdoor options at both the park lodge or the closest and most ideal place, the Illinois Waterway Visitors Center, which has two stories of windows and outdoor decks. Don't go to the 1930s lodge first; with its fireplaces, 1930s log ceiling and Irish coffee, you'll never want to go out in the cold. 
TROLLEY: The park runs a trolley tour a few days a week. The big appeal here is that you're in a heated box--though it was cancelled the day we went.
EAGLE WEEKEND: Thousands of people turn out for the runs Eagle Watch Weekend that IlIllinois Audubon runs. This year it's Jan. 23-24. TIP: you can see as many eagles and avoid the crowds if you go during the week in late January or early February. 

Bonus species: Cooper's hawk, tons of migrating geese, deer
Bonus Goofy YouTube Video: Let the Eagle Sour

Get a Glimpse of Native Illinois Wildlife on their Winter Break--Join the Wildlife Prairie State Park

Mother Bison directing traffic,
originally uploaded by Todd Ryburn.

Just a couple hours west of Chicago a herd of bison is taking the winter off from delighting kids. Wildlife Prairie State Park--a unique combination of wildlife center, praire re-enactment and park--closes for the winter.

The animals in big herds, the elk and bison, are taken off public display to give their summer pastures a rest, says park spokesperson Kelly Stickelmaier. The enclosures (80 acres for the elk) are big enough to approximate a natural setting, but not so huge you can't see them. (Just check the park's very active flickr group and you can see how much of the animals visitors can see.)

The park's 18 bison are especially cooperative, coming up to the viewing stand, where they're fed at 1 o'clock.  "The elk are a little more persnickety, especially the boys," Stickelmaier says. Because the bison herd reproduces, the park sells off however many are born each year to keep the total at 18.

Badger at WPSP,
originally uploaded by Mark Koonce.

I don't think I've seen another wildlife park that has badgers--and, believe me, I've looked. They've also have otters, eagles that came in through wildlife rehabilitation, skunks, bobcats and cougars.

Philantrhopist Will Rutherford started the park in 1978 mainly as a kind of rehab area for animals from the Brookfield Zoo. The park eventually shifted to native animals, then Rutherford gave the park to the state in 2000.

 Rutherford's family's Forest Park Foundation still supports the park, the Peoria Journal-Star says, but it can't make up for all the money now disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich cut from their budget. In one of his last acts, Blago used a line item veto to chop $828,000 from the Peoria park's $1.2 million budget, prompting worries it would close, according to Prairie State Outdoors. The park has come up with some creative ways to raise and save money to support their animals. You can still visit while the park is closed in winter if you become a member or rent a cottage. You can rent out a room for a business meeting or party--maybe even the one that looks out on the wolf pen. And they've even loaned out a couple bears. Certainly it's worth a visit and maybe a membership.



Join Wildlife Prairie State Park
Find other places to see wildlife in the Midwest with this AnimalTourism.com map
Where can I find the nearest buffalo herd?

Here's How To Comment on the Softening of the Endangered Species Act

The Bush administration is making a last minute attempt to plunder the Endangered Species Act before they leave office. The Associated Press dug up a draft copy of new proposed rules that would eliminate the need to consult with scientists about whether major construction projects would impact any endangered species. Like taking all those animals off the list wasn't enough, huh?

They're just changing the rules, so Congress doesn't even need to approve. Instead they have to let the public comment--but not actually listen to it. The San Francisco Gate reports that they've even stopped accepting emails. And cut the comment period from 90 to 30 days, says gristmill.

Just try to find a way to comment on the proposal. I couldn't find it anywhere in the Fish and Wildlife Service page. Not even their page just on endangered species. To find it, I had to use the document number from the National Wildlife Federation. Here's the magic word you need to know: "50 CFR part 402". That's the only way you're going to find it. Here's the official proposal online.

And here's their instructions on how to submit a comment. Now it's confusing because first they tell you where to comment, then they tell you they won't accept your email.

If they do take it, here's the place to submit a comment on 50 CFR part 402. I tried it and it seems to work.

And here are their ambiguous instructions:

Submit your comments or materials concerning this proposed
rule in one of the following ways:
(1) Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions on the Web site for submitting comments.
(2) By U.S. mail or hand-delivery to Public Comment Processing,
Attention: 1018-AT50, Division of Policy and Directives Management,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 222,
Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all comments on
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section
below for more information).

Dumpster Owl Serves as Greeter at Carolina Raptor Center

Carolina Raptor Center, Just N. of Charlotte, NC

Shelby greets you as you enter the Raptor Center and she's annoyed with you (if you're a dog, for example) she is likely to puff up like she here. Shelby is a great ambassador to the world of injured big birds of prey. Her story is sad, but not that uncommon. She was caught in a leg trap, beaten, then discarded in a dumpster. Someone found her and brought her to the Carolina Raptor Center, which rehabilitates sick and injured birds. Shelby's eyes were too damaged for her to hunt in the wild, so she has a permanent home here.
The center attracts a wide range of visiors--families, scouts, bikers--and most read Shelby's story then ask "Why would anyone throw an owl in a dumpster?"
Some birds are nursed to health behind the scenes. About 27% of birds who survive won't be able to make it in the wild. So, 100 live here, including great horned owls, bald eagles, barred owls, screech owls and a part-albino red-tailed hawk.
It takes about 2 hours to see everyone. On weekends there are special shows.

Where to See Animals Down South

Berkshire Bird Paradise: The Biggest Bird Sanctuary in New York

Berkshire Bird Paradise, Grafton, NY

Bird Paradise is one of the country's biggest bird sanctuaries. (It's also one of the hardest to find, off Route 2 in NY, near the Massachusetts/Vermont border.) More than 2,000 birds (100 species) live here and lots of them are the big ones everyone wants to see: bald and golden eagles; many kinds of large hawks; exotic pheasants; former pet songbirds; barnyard refugees; black swans. You'll walk through a long green house-esque tunnel of former pets, then out to the yard. Ducks, geese and swans swim in a pond while pheasants and chickens wander around. Twelve bald eagles hang out together in the back. At the right time of year, visitors can hide in a special blind to watch a disabled bald eagle matings pair, Ross and Marilyn, and their family. The chicks they raise fly off to the wild (though return for occassional visits).
Director Peter Dubacher started rescuing birds here in 1975. Friendly supporters drop by with food, building supplies as well as money.

When chicks aren't around, the emus still the show. These giant gangly birds are very curious about their human visitors. About human height, they seem to want to dance with you from the other side of the chain link fence. They twist their necks around to get a closer view and beg for food.
About 40% of the birds here couldn't make it in the wild and so will live out their lives here.

Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast