Bald eagle Hotspot

Basin is home to largest concentration of nesting bald eagles in Oregon

By STEVE KADEL

H&N Staff Writer

February 17, 2008

A bald eagle flies near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Friday to the delight of participants in the 2008 Winter Wings Festival Frostbite Flyout.

   The largest concentration of nesting bald eagles in Oregon is located along the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake , where 13 mating pairs have established nests averaging less than a mile apart. 

   They’re among 500 nesting pairs throughout Oregon , bald eagle researcher Frank Isaacs said Saturday during a presentation at the 2008 Winter Wings Festival. 

   But the species’ survival was once so tenuous it was placed on the federal endangered list in 1978. Attitudes toward bald eagles were vastly different decades ago than they are today, Isaacs said. 

   For example, a 1935 edition of “American Rifleman” magazine ran a cover story touting the fact that hunters could make a living in Alaska just from bounties collected on bald eagles. 

   Indiscriminate use of the synthetic pesticide DDT also cut into bald eagle populations by causing thin-shelled eggs that would crack under the weight of a parent. 

   DDT banned 

   The Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 made it illegal to shoot, trap or poison bald eagles, but their numbers continued to decline into the late 1960s and early 1970s. The U.S. banned DDT in 1972, helping the numbers rebound over coming decades, Isaacs said. 

   Populations were healthy enough that bald eagles were removed from the federal endangered species list in June 2007. 

   “In my opinion, it was biologically justified,” Isaacs said. 

   Concerns remain 

   However, he remains concerned about the decline of habitat protection and the lack of funding for follow-up monitoring of eagle numbers. 

   Isaacs covered several topics related to the popular raptors during his talk. He said juveniles can grow to 3 feet tall with a 6- to 8-foot wingspan in just three months following their one-month incubation. 

   Mating pairs protect their territory and nest annually in the same spot. 

   They’re good scavengers and will eat anything from ground squirrels to waterfowl to road-killed wildlife. 

Reid Sherwin, of Klamath Falls , watches bald eagles make their way from Bear Valley into the Basin Friday.

   The latter often leads to injuries because eagles gorge themselves so full of meat that they fly away lazily when cars approach, often being involved in collisions. 

   Puncture wounds and lacerations from fights with other eagles are other common problems. 

   Food is what attracts eagles to an area, Issacs said, and plentiful food explains why so many are found in the Klamath Basin . 

   During winter, the Basin may be a temporary home to eagles migrating south from Canada as well as those migrating north from Arizona and other southern locales, he said. 

   The Oregon population swells to two to four times its normal size during winter months. 

   Isaacs said his research indicates bald eagle populations are increasing and their distribution is expanding geographically. 

   “They’ve done well because we’ve given them a chance to do well,” he said. “Our attitudes have changed, and a lot of it is through education.”

Side Bar

Eagle expert

   Frank Isaacs has conducted bald eagle research for the Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at Oregon State University since 1979. He has coordinated the state’s annual survey of nesting bald eagles, and has assisted with other bald eagle research projects in Oregon , Washington , Idaho and Alaska . 

   The Wren, Ore., resident has won several awards for his work, including the 1989 Oregon Wildlife Achievement Award from the Oregon chapter of The Wildlife Society for leadership in protecting bald eagles.

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