1/13/2009

by Todd Flory
Salina Journal

Although the results from this year's mid-winter bald eagle survey are just beginning to be totaled, Ed Miller, threatened and endangered species coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, feels good about the amount of bald eagles in the state. "I think we'll probably have more than last year," he said. About 20-35 people are involved in the survey, in which several well-known bald eagle spots around the state were scouted January 9 and 10. The participants drive around the locations counting the eagles they encounter as quickly as possible, so not to count any birds twice.

The mid-winter bald eagle survey was conducted in 39 states. The Kansas locations included: Cheyenne Bottoms, along the Arkansas River, Glen Elder Reservoir, Clinton Reservoir, John Redmond Reservoir/Flint Hills Refuge, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Perry Reservoir, Pomona Reservoir, El Dorado Reservoir, Toronto Reservoir, Marion Reservoir, Council Grove Reservoir, Big Hill Reservoir, Elk City Reservoir, Fall River Reservoir, Fort Riley and Neosho Wildlife Area.

While the final bald eagle numbers are not completely counted yet, there are typically between 250-500 bald eagles counted during the annual survey in Kansas. "They've been increasing...about two-and-a-half percent per year on average," (between 1986-2005) Miller said. "And that is significant." Since the survey began more than 20 years ago, the highest state-wide bald eagle count was 463 in 2004. From 1966 to 2007, the bald eagle population in the United States has grown about 10 percent each year on average. It was the second highest rate of increase of any bird species in the United States, with only the wild turkey population increasing more during that time. Miller said higher rates of population increase are more common when the population is very low at the beginning of the survey.

At John Redmond Reservoir during this year's survey, there were 82 bald eagles spotted. In the 2008 survey, there were 38 known bald eagle nests in the state, with an estimated 52 young from those nests. Miller said that in 1989, there were no known bald eagle nests in Kansas. Many of the bald eagles from the survey have not yet developed their distinctive markings. "About half of them are still dark," Miller said. "They haven't gotten their white head and tail yet. Those are still young." Many of the eagles will only be in Kansas for a few more weeks, Miller said. "Many of them are from Canada," he said. "They spend the winter down here, and in February, head back to their nesting grounds."

Bald eagles have made such a recovery in recent years, Miller said, that they were taken off the federal threatened list in 2007. They are also in the process of being removed from the state threatened list, as well. Part of the recovery plan, Miller said, has been a more focused effort on preserving the bald eagles' habitat. Another contributing factor has also been the 1972 ban of a number of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides. "A lot of our birds of prey have been doing well since then," Miller said. Even with the federal, and soon the state, threatened species status lifted, bald eagles will still have protection through two federal laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. "It's one of the success stories," Miller said. "We don't have many of those."