With 775 active nesting pairs in the state last summer, bald eagles have returned to the state in numbers that make them a high-profile success story among recovery efforts for endangered species, according to Randy Jurewicz, an endangered resources biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. Wisconsin's eagle population hit a low of 82 pair in 1970, two years before the bird was placed on the state endangered species list. Although the raptor's recovery means that the species was removed from that list in August 1997, the bird still is protected under federal and state laws. However, when the air is cold and ice has covered most lakes, any patch of open water becomes an attraction for a gathering of eagles. Unlike their smaller relatives, ospreys which regularly shuttle between here and South America, said DNR avian specialist Pat Manthey, eagles are opportunistic migrants, flying no farther from their nests than it takes to find a fish-filled area uncovered by ice.
Feathers ruffled by the chilly wind, eagles also have the munchies.
And even in winter, Wisconsin is well-stocked to provide timely sustenance. At this time of year, hundreds of bald eagles fish along the Wisconsin River below the Prairie du Sac dam and on the Mississippi near La Crosse and Cassville. Aerial surveys in past years have found as many as 250 eagles along the Wisconsin River between the Petenwell dam, near Necedah, andPrairie du Chien, where the river flows in the Mississippi. A roost count Dec. 17 at Prairie du Sac found 123 eagles, including 54 of the white-headed adults. Near Cassville and at Sauk City and Prairie du Sac, they gather in sufficient numbers to qualify as tourist attractions.