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BUFFALO, Wyo. – Ninety volunteers spent the morning of Jan. 7 searching for bald and golden eagles across the Powder River Basin, counting 461 eagles along more than 1,500 miles of public roads. Their efforts were part of the nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey coordinated locally by the Bureau of Land Management Buffalo Field Office.

This year’s tally consisted of 296 bald eagles, 141 golden eagles, and 24 eagles of undetermined species. Total sightings were down compared to last year’s high of 572 eagles, but on average with the 400 to 500 eagles that volunteers observe annually. Several volunteers noted that eagles were not in locations they typically frequent, and that crows and ravens along the route were fewer, too. According to BLM survey coordinator Charlotte Darling, the milder weather the day of the survey may have led to birds foraging farther away from the main roads, resulting in fewer observations.

Despite the decrease in eagle sightings this year, volunteers enjoyed a beautiful Powder River Basin sunrise and clear skies the day of the survey. The experience even led one volunteer to pen an essay about her day. Volunteer support is essential to the survey’s success and many volunteers return every year to assist. For some, the survey has become a family affair for participants, bringing their children along to help spot the birds.  

“I like the eagle survey because when we find an eagle, we get to stop and look at it with our binoculars!” five-year-old volunteer Luke McClure exclaims.

Luke’s big sister, Tessa, enjoys the surveys for the variety. “I like the eagle surveys because it’s fun to look for the different kinds of birds,” Tessa says. “This year I got to do the raven tallies!”

While hundreds of bald eagles are seen in the basin during winter, only a few of them nest in the area. Greater numbers of golden eagles remain in the Powder River Basin to breed. The additional winter populations migrate north in February, March, and April, returning to Canada and Alaska. The information gathered by the survey is used by wildlife researchers and managers nationwide and is valuable on the local level as well. The data collected helps the BLM to determine important habitats within the Buffalo Field Office, which consists of Campbell, Johnson, and Sheridan counties.

The national Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey effort began in 1979 as an effort to identify wintering habitat and develop a population index for the struggling eagle population in the lower 48 states. Collecting eagle data over the long-term has allowed analyses of population trends that help to monitor the overall health of the species. The most recent trend analysis was published in 2015.

To learn more about the national program, visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Bird Initiative website at https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/bird/midwinter.cfm.