Eagles of North Idaho - Awe inspiring, and a reminder of our National Heritage

Before I start, let me give you the inspiration for this article. As I drove in to work the two odd miles over the Long Bridge that crosses gigantic Lake Pend Oreille, I was graced by not one, but two eagles in flight. A juvenile, not yet crested with the white crown so distintive to the breed, flew on the lake side of the bridge. On the river side a young bald eagle, this one with the familiar white headed plumes, soared on hard blowing winds with a wing-span of almost five feet. This is a common occurrence, and virtually every day passers-by spy eagles perched or flying. There is no doubt many start or continue their days inspired and awe struck.

In twenty years of living in south Louisiana and central Florida, I thought I had seen every kind of bird. It is an awesome thing to see the great flocks migrating back to the marshes and warmer lands. However, rarely has my spirit been lifted more than seeing the eagles of North Idaho. Eagles are inspiring; Eagles are majestic; hardly a day passes that one cannot see an eagle perched in its nest or soaring the skies around the gargantuan lakes of North Idaho. Living along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, with daily crossings across the miles-spanning Long Bridge, eagles are amazingly apparent. A mating pair live in the tall pines right in our view of the lake, and a young eagle has made its home, or at least perches a lot, right off the Long Bridge. In fact, my home overlooks the WaterLife Discovery Center: a proposed facility for a habitat education and interpretive area on the shores of the Pend Oreille River near Sandpoint, Idaho. It will be a self guided educational center that combines a fish hatchery, nature trails, overlook bridges, wildlife watching platforms, interpretive signs, and underwater viewing opportunities along a stream and a pond. Unfortunately, funding ran dry years ago, and there it sits, 1940s building waiting to be moved, space unused. Still, the place is special, and I would like to think I am equally special seeing my daily dose of eagles and wildlife, but truth is, thousands see these eagles every day driving along busy Highway 95.

There are so many kinds of birds here that are part of daily life. The state bird is the elusive Mountain Bluebird, but as secretive as the Bluebird is, turkey, duck, and goose are abundant, and grouse, quail, and pheasant fly up out of the brush everywhere one goes. In Florida humingbirds are common, but the wonder of having one fly around your head is an experience this writer only had in North Idaho, and not once, but many times. Raptors abound, and daily sitings of osprey, hawks, and falcons are common. The most amazing thing is how many are seen even in the cities. North Idaho is truly a mountain hinterland, and though there are people, many areas are 70% or better state and federal forests. With so much rural land and heavy forestation, birds have found a haven. Sure, there are many, many kinds of birds (409 accepted species, see this Idaho Bird Checklist and for more info visit IdahoBirds.net), but eagles are the most cool of all.

Once endangered, the USGS stated in 2008 that eagles in North America entered their 30^th year in recovery. For more info about eagles in Idaho, download this pdf from Idaho Fish and Game about Eagles. In Idaho, the eagle population has increased five-fold since the 1970s. While the last two years has seen fewer migrating eagles around Lake Coeur d'Alene, the numbers are still impressive. In 2005, 46 breeding pairs were estimated around Lake Pend Oreille, and hundreds more make their nests in and around the lakes of North Idaho.

Here are some facts about eagles:

• Bald Eagles are the national symbol of the United States.
• Bald Eagles aren't really bald. Their head is actually covered with white feathers. The white feathers on their head comes when they are 5 or 6 years old. Female eagles are often a third larger than males. Males weigh roughly 10 lbs. while females are around 14 lbs. Being smaller, males are a bit quicker and more agile, offering male eagles the advantage in catching prey. Larger females are better able to incubate the eggs and brood the young chicks, using her body to shelter her offspring from cold, soaking rains, or hot sun. The male's wingspan is a little more than 6 feet from wing tip to wing tip, the female's is between 6.5 and 7 feet. Bald Eagles wing span can reach 8 feet, allowing them the ability to float and soar on the winds for hours.
• Eagles live near large bodies of water, and prefer the sea or ocean. They often live in trees 75 feet or higher. Bald Eagles add to their nest over and over. Sometimes it can take a pair of eagles as long as six weeks to build their nest for the first time. The eyrie, or aerie, is the large nest made of sticks and lined with twigs and green grass. The heaviest nest ever found is 1 ton. The word aerie can refer to any nest that is built on a high place, usually a cliff, but it is commonly used to denote an eagle's nest, as in an eagle's aerie. The word aerie itself comes from the Latin for area - open space or threshing floor.
• Eagles mate for life. The female may lay from one to three eggs and raises one brood (group) a year. If these eggs are destroyed the female may lay more eggs. It takes four weeks for an eagle egg to hatch. Eaglets grow slowly and need a large amount of food. A bald eagle egg is slightly smaller than a domestic goose egg. The chick will measure 4 to 5 inches at hatching and weigh only a matter of ounces.
• Bald Eagles normally eat fish. Sometimes they will eat snakes and smaller birds. They have long sharp beaks and curved talons to help hold prey. They can fly with 8 pounds of food. Bald Eagles help man by catching rodents and rabbits that destroy grain fields. The male does most of the hunting and scavenging during the early weeks of the chick's life. The female does the majority of the feeding and brooding.
• The male will often eat the head of the fish he catches and then bring the remainder to the nest. The male will brood and feed the chick when the female is off the nest. She will leave to stretch, defecate, bathe, preen and hunt on her own.
• Eagles have great eyesight that helps them see for one to one and a half miles away. (Thus the term eagles eye) They can dive at 100 miles per hour. Their eyesight and diving ability help them catch food.
• Eagles don't migrate in the sense that robins and bluebirds do. Eagles only travel as far as they have to in order to find food. This is particularly true of adult eagles with established territories. Adults will stay on their territory (roughly 1 - 6 square miles) year round as long as there is open water nearby where they can hunt. Should a severe winter limit the food supply, eagles will move as far south as necessary to find open water and suitable feeding grounds.

Check out this YouTube Video of the Eagles

Each winter from November through February a migrating population of up to 150 bald eagles visit the Wolf Lodge Bay area of Coeur d'Alene Lake to feed on spawning kokanee salmon. An interpretive viewing program is offered annually from Christmas through New Years during peak migration. Prime viewing is during Eagle Watch Week December 26th - January 1st. At this time there are exhibits with telescopes at the Mineral Ridge Boat Launch and the Mineral Ridge Trailhead. Biologists and volunteers are available every day during the week to answer questions, except during the very worst weather conditions. Wolf Lodge Bay is about 11 miles east of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Take US-90 east from Coeur d'Alene for eight miles to Wolf Lodge Bay (exit 22), then south on Highway 97 for three miles.

The Bureau of Land Management counted 127 eagles on December 8, 2008 on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

In our neck of the woods we are graced by the 148 square mile Lake Pend Oreille, and in years past there were so many eagles, one of the islands was named Eagle Island. This island lies on the route of the International Selkirk Loop and the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway. Lake Pend Oreille, the result of ancient Ice Age floods offers viewing of every kind of bird.

There are many bird watching areas, and you can find most on the Idaho Fish and Game Site like this one detailing Oden Bay. The Denton Slough Waterfowl Area offers another great viewing spot for birders. Migrating waterfowl love to visit the area, and Tundra Swans are commonly sighted each fall. Similarly, Western Grebes bring their nesting colony to the area in the spring. Other waterfowl and songbirds can be seen in the inlet year-round.

The Pack River Wildlife Area is prime for viewing waterfowl and migrating birds and can be viewed from your car during winter months. Eagles wintering in the wildlife area are frequently seen from automobiles driving the byway.

For Blue Herons, osprey, waterfowl, and songbirds, the Johnson Creek Recreation Area is another excellent spot. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game maintains a boat launch and docks which supply easy access to the water, allowing you to observe these birds up close. If you want to watch the skies from a more comfortable location, plan an adventure in the Trestle Creek Recreation Area. A day use area provides restrooms and picnic tables. If you stop here during winter months, again, you'll probably see eagles. If you visit during the spring, summer, or fall you may be able to spot ospreys fishing the waters.

Another opportunity for first-class birding along the byway lies in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests which include the St. Joe, Coeur d'Alene, and Kanisku Forests. You will be able to do lots of bird watching here. Bald Eagles, the Common Loon, Harlequin Duck, Peregrine Falcon, Flammulated Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, and

Norther Goshawk make their home in the forests. Find what you are looking for on the Pend Oreille Scenic byway. Relax as you drive, enjoy the scenery and look to the skies. You'll find that the byway suits all of your needs and satisfies your bird watching fancy. Plan a trip to spend the day or longer along the byway and you will catch a glimpse of waterfowl, songbirds, eagles and more.

To see eagles soar and do their acrobatic mating dance, seemingly out of control falling towards earth in freefall is frightening and breathtaking. To watch an eagle sit motionless in the sky, floating on unseen currents of air, defies logic. Eagles are one of my favorite parts of life in North Idaho. We just finished Sandpoint's Winter Carnival, with great fun and events and thousands of people out and about enjoying the festivities. Last week, skiing Schweitzer Mountain with its awesome views of Lake Pend Oreille, I felt blessed. We have so much to offer in North Idaho, with majestic mountains, scenery, and vast lake views. Few places as small as Sandpoint have so much going on. Still, for me, the eagles make me proud. These fantastic raptors remind me that I am an American. When I see one, I forget about the economy. I forget about my worries. I am filled with wonder, and only think about how cool this moment is, seeing the symbol of my country, proud, strong, and wonderful.

Remember, you can learn all about Sandpoint at http://SandpointID.net

Learn more about Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort at http://SkiSchweitzer.net

For the best in North Idaho Real Estate, go to http://realestatesandpoint.net or http://realtysandpoint.com