Rangers Need More Eyes on the Skies for Next Bald Eagle Count
U.S. Forest Service rangers are in need of more eyes to scan the skies during this weekend's eagle watching expeditions in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Forest Service's third bald eagle count of the winter will be conducted Saturday in multiple locations.
USFS personnel anticipate that more eagles have migrated to lakeside areas in the Inland Empire since December because of intense winter weather farther north.
The agency's 39th annual winter census began in early December and will conclude on March 11. This Saturday's outing will be the next to last opportunity of the season for ``citizen scientists'' to help gauge the region's bald eagle population, according to USFS spokeswoman Gerrelaine Alcordo.
Outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers who want to help out need no prior experience -- just warm clothes, a pair of binoculars and an hour to spare for each count, Alcordo said. Participants will receive brief orientations before trekking into the woods.
Eagles generally nest in the lakeside areas from late November to early April. Radio tracking devices attached to some birds show that, in a given year, they can migrate to the region from as far north as Alberta, Canada.
Because of hunting and habitat destruction, the American bald eagle was nearly driven to extinction in the past century. The birds were declared endangered in the 1970s. However, with some 10,000 breeding pairs identified across the continental United States, they were removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the eagle count at Lake Hemet is asked to call (909) 382-2935; at Lake Perris, (951) 940-5600; Big Bear Lake, or Lakes Arrowhead and Gregory, (909) 382-2832; and Silverwood Lake, (760) 389-2303.
Rangers noted that eagle counts will be canceled during inclement weather. Showers are expected in some inland locations Friday, but the disturbances are likely to clear to the east by Saturday, according to
forecasters.
More information is available here: www.fs.usda.gov/sbnf.