IOWA CITY — Iowa bird watchers will be able to spot bald eagles this winter as the animals visit in search of warmer weather.
Thousands of bald eagles cross Iowa each winter as they migrate south. Wildlife experts say any location that offers open water where the eagles can hunt is likely to offer a good chance to see them.
The area around Iowa City and Coralville is a prime location for seeing bald eagles because of the Iowa River, the Coralville Reservoir and the Burlington Street dam. An eagle watching event will also be held at North Central Junior High in North Liberty on Feb. 7.
“There are a lot of people who love nothing more than to see a bald eagle fly above them,” said Joe Wilkinson, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The bald eagle was near extinction in the 1960s due to habitat destruction, illegal shooting and food source contamination, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Conservation efforts have helped the bald eagle population rebound nationwide over the past several decades.
The eagles were removed from the list of threatened and endangered species in 1997.
“We see a sharp increase in bald eagles as they migrate down from Canada or Wisconsin,” said Jodeane Cancilla, director of the MacBride Raptor Project at Lake MacBride State Park. “Winter in Iowa, whether people in Iowabelieve it or not, is much warmer than up there.”
Cancilla’s organization has been helping bald eagles and other raptors rehabilitate after injuries for 28 years.
Tim Thompson, a wildlife management biologist for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the number of bald eagles varies each winter because of conditions. For instance, when the river is covered in snow, the eagles may fly further south.
“But as past numbers have indicated, more will be coming. We have much more bald eagles now than in the previous 15 or 20 years,” Thompson said.