Volunteers sought for annual bald eagle count on Jan. 28

APPLE RIVER – The 63rd mid-winter bald eagle count will be Jan. 28 (or Jan. 29 if weather or other conditions dictate), and the Eagle Nature Foundation is seeking volunteers to assist.

“This count has been the most important bald eagle count in the nation for many, many years,” said Terrence N. Ingram, president and executive director of the Eagle Nature Foundation. “It was the results of this count in the early 1960s that truly documented the decline of the bald eagle in the nation.”

[ Bald eagle population was up 4% 2022 count shows. ]

Counters are needed across the Midwest. The focus is on bald eagles found along the Mississippi River valley, from Minnesota to Louisiana.

But the census also includes tributaries, such as the Rock River.

Other streams where eagles will be counted are along the Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Pecatonica, Des Moines, Iowa, Skunk, Cedar, Turkey, Maquoketa and Wisconsin rivers.

Counts also are taken at known inland wintering areas.

Interested volunteers should call 815-594-2306 or contact the federation at 300 E. Hickory St., Apple River, IL 61001. Inquiries should be made in advance so count forms and assignments can be made well ahead of Jan. 28.

Volunteers will make their count in a three-hour period on Jan. 28. The Jan. 29 date will be used only if weather, health conditions or a locality does not allow a count on the official day.

According to the foundation, 90% of counts are completed before 11 a.m. on the designated Saturday in January.

Some individuals begin their counts early as the raptors leave their nighttime roosts as silhouettes flying overhead. Conservation organizations often count as teams. Some are deployed in cars, boats and airplanes.

Elton Fawks of Moline started the project, which he coordinated for 22 years. Ingram has been the coordinator for the past four decades.

“This count is the only accurate record of how our eagles are reproducing in the Midwest,” Ingram said.

Since 2007, when the bald eagle was removed from the Endangered Species List, there has been no federal funding for agencies to monitor the creature’s reproduction, Ingram said.

“This count helps document what percentage of those young birds have survived,” Ingram said.

The foundation said recent counts have shown a drop in the number of immature bald eagles. The number is actually lower than the original counts in the 1960s, the foundation said. But the foundation said it will not speculate as to the cause for the trend.

The total count of bald eagles for 2022 was 2,170. In 2021, the count was 1,850.