NORTHWEST TERRITORY : Nesting eagles on the rise in Northwest Arkansas
Posted on Thursday, March 8, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Northwest_Outdoors/183959/
Among the many bird-watching
moments enjoyed during a
recent float on War Eagle Creek, hands-down highlights were three eagle nests, or “eyries,” spotted along 11 miles of creek between Arkansas 45 and War Eagle Mill. “Well, if you were an eagle, where else would you nest in our area than on a creek named the War Eagle ?” Ernie Kilman with Kings River Outfitters and my paddling partner for the float said half-jokingly after we had passed the third nest. Kilman had been advised by a friend who had recently paddled the creek to watch for an eagle’s nest not far downstream from the Arkansas 45 bridge. “He said he had actually seen a pair of eagles in the process of building the nest,” Kilman noted. The nest was easy to spot as it appeared high in the forks of a sycamore tree leaning out over the creek about a mile below the bridge. It was bigger than a bushel basket and had been constructed of small limbs instead of twigs. Although we saw no eagles around the nest, we passed it early in the morning, when the eagles were likely to have been out foraging.
The other two nests, however, had a pair of mature bald eagles visible in close proximity. Both nests were in sycamore trees on the left bank of the creek, one about two miles below the Gar Hole Road crossing and the other a mile or so upstream from the mill.
Since nesting eagles are rare in Northwest Arkansas, the sightings were reported to Alan Bland, a ranger with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Rogers.
Bland monitors the population of wintering bald eagles on Beaver Lake and has a keen interest in any others nesting in the region.
He had heard about the first nest from the same paddler who mentioned it to Kilman, but the other two were a complete surprise.
“All three nests are news to me.” Bland said. “As far I know, we have one pair of eagles nesting in a cove on the main part of Beaver Lake and possibly another pair nesting near the Hickory Creek area.”
While the pair nesting on the main lake produced one young bird last year, a nesting pair near Hickory Creek has yet to be confirmed.
Nesting eagles in Arkansas also are monitored by the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Fish & Wildlife Service Field Supervisor Mark Sattelberg in Conway revealed just how rare nesting eagles are in the state.
“Our records and maps are showing 56 pairs of nesting eagles statewide,” Sattelberg reported, noting that most nests are in the eastern and southern areas of Arkansas.
The numbers dip significantly in the northern quadrant of the state defined as the area along the Arkansas River from Fort Smith to Little Rock and north to the Missouri border.
“We have 15 nests recorded and mapped in that quadrant,” Sattelberg said.
Of those, only two are recorded in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties.
“We show one in Benton County and one in southwest Madison County,” Sattelberg said.
The Benton County nest obviously refers to the one on Beaver Lake, while the Madison County nest seems likely to be along the White River as it cuts across the southwest corner of the county.
Pending confirmation of another nesting pair on the lake and three new ones along the War Eagle, the numbers of nesting pairs in the area could triple.
Upon hearing the Fish & Wildlife Service numbers, Bland said he had reported the War Eagle nests to the local offices of the state Game and Fish Commission and Audubon Arkansas.
“I was told that a wildlife officer or someone else with the commission will be heading down the creek to check out those nests,” Bland said.
He was encouraged that the War Eagle nests appeared to be strung out several miles apart. “Eagles are very territorial and like a lot of room for their nesting sites,” he said.
The creek certainly provides good nesting territory for eagles. Between the presence of large, private properties along the banks and the absence of much canoe traffic, it offers a quiet, secluded environment.
As a food source, the creek provides plenty of fish and lots of small animals. In addition, the pastures of large farms along the creek offer good grounds for hunting rodents and small mammals. There are also lots of chicken houses, where eagles like to scavenge.
Bland also noted that this time of year marks the beginning of peak nesting time for eagles.
“They should be laying their eggs right now, and the males and females should soon be taking turns setting the eggs” he said. “By the end of the month to the middle of April, you should be able to see the heads of the young sticking out of the nests.”
Meanwhile, who knows how many other nests are yet to be discovered around the lakes and streams of the region ?