Bald Eagles Fly High

Bald Eagles Fly High was originally published in the BFEC Newsletter, Vol. 14/No. 1, Winter 2010. 

Knox Countians can count among their blessings a healthy population of bald eagles. According to ODNR volunteer monitor Jon Minard, and many of our Christmas bird counters, the winter population this year is up, especially among juveniles. While they lack white heads and tails, they do have white patches on the under side of their wings near the body. Also setting them apart are their orange feet and distinctive size, with a wingspan of up the seven feet!

Ohio’s bald eagle population has now probably surpassed its historic (pre-DDT) size due to more open water in the form of quarries and man made lakes, supplying eagles with their favorite food of fish. Bald eagles migrate short distances in the winter if cold water causes their fishing holes to ice over. They nest earlier than song birds, making late winter and early spring a good time to see them at nests un-obscured by leaves. Six bald eagle nests were thought to exist in the Kokosing River watershed last year.