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Pete Schlicht, left, and Jeb Barzen straddle Highway 60 to observe and count bald eagles coming in to roost on Black Hawk Bluff. The counts, which have been ongoing since 1988, provide "invaluable information" used by the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council to document not only the numbers and location of the majestic birds but to provide data to local governments, landowners and others interested in eagle conservation.
A pair of bald eagles fly over the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac last week. The river attracts hundreds of eagles from around the state who use the open water to feed.
Pete Schlicht, a volunteer with the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, watches for bald eagles at Black Hawk Bluff, an eagle roosting site near Prairie du Sac. Armed with binoculars and clipboards, volunteers like Schlicht document eagles at multiple roosting sites near and along the Wisconsin River.
In 1972, Wisconsin was home to 108 nesting territories. Through conservation efforts, there are now more than 1,600, with many of the birds wintering along or near the Lower Wisconsin River, one of three primary winter gathering spots in the state, along with the Fox River Valley and Mississippi River at La Crosse.
This is the form used by volunteers when counting eagles. It includes spaces to document weather conditions and if eagles are mature or not. Volunteers monitor roosts from the Prairie du Sac dam south to Spring Green.Â
Pete Schlicht, left, and Jeb Barzen watch for bald eagles at Black Hawk Bluff, an eagle roosting site just outside of Prairie du Sac.
Photos: Eagles through the years along the Lower Wisconsin River
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A bald eagle flies over the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Eagle Counting
A pair of bald eagles fly over the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac last week. The river attracts hundreds of eagles from around the state who use the open water to feed.
Eagle Counting
Pete Schlicht, left, and Jeb Barzen watch for bald eagles at Black Hawk Bluff, an eagle roosting site just outside of Prairie du Sac.
Eagle Counting
This is the form used by volunteers when counting eagles. It includes spaces to document weather conditions and if eagles are mature or not. Volunteers monitor roosts from the Prairie du Sac dam south to Spring Green.Â
Eagle Counting
Pete Schlicht, a volunteer with the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, watches for bald eagles at Black Hawk Bluff, an eagle roosting site near Prairie du Sac. Armed with binoculars and clipboards, volunteers like Schlicht document eagles at multiple roosting sites near and along the Wisconsin River.
Eagle Counting
Pete Schlicht, left, and Jeb Barzen straddle Highway 60 to observe and count bald eagles coming in to roost on Black Hawk Bluff. The counts, which have been ongoing since 1988, provide "invaluable information" used by the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council to document not only the numbers and location of the majestic birds but to provide data to local governments, landowners and others interested in eagle conservation.
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A pair of bald eagles fly over the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Lower Wisconsin Riverway
A bald eagle perched above the Wisconsin River near Muscoda. The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway draws more than 140 species of birds.
Bald Eagle
Marge Gibson, founder and executive director of the Raptor Education Group, says some words to a rehabilitated female bald eagle before she is released at the VFW Park in Prairie du Sac on Jan. 12. The eagle was found at Rib Lake with lead poisoning and a broken wing. AMBER ARNOLD
Eagle Release
David Stokes of Hales Corners looks through a spotting scope during Saturday's eagle release event. Stokes, an educator, naturalist and humorist, will perform at Bald Eagle Watching Days Friday and Saturday in Prairie du Sac.
Eagle Release
Marge Gibson, founder and executive director of the Raptor Education Group, brings a rehabilitated female bald eagle onto a bus so residents, including Mack McCluskey, 93, left, from The Pines Senior Living in Prairie du Sac can get an up-close view prior to its release.
Eagle Release
Marge Gibson, founder and executive director of the Raptor Education Group, releases a rehabilitated female bald eagle at the VFW Memorial Park in Prairie du Sac on Saturday. The eagle was found at Rib Lake with lead poisoning and a broken wing but was nursed back to health at Gibson's Antigo facility.
Eagle Release
Gibson shows off a rehabilitated immature male bald eagle, which was found injured and emaciated at a wastewater treatment plant in Merrill in early 2018. The eagle injured itself Saturday after being released and had to be recaptured for rehabilitation.
Eagle Release
A rehabilitated adult female bald eagle, who was found near Antigo and had lead poisoning, exits an animal carrier to be released back into the wild at the VFW Memorial Park along the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac.
Eagle Release
Cameras from the crowd who came to watch four eagles be released in Prairie du Sac on Saturday are pointed at a rehabilitated male juvenile bald eagle that had just been released after months of recovery at Raptor Education Group in Antigo. This eagle had lead poisoning and was found near St. Germain in Vilas County.
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Eagle
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A bald eagle perches at the top of a tree on the Wisconsin River near the dam in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Friday, January 15, 2016.Â
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A Bald Eagle soars over the Wisconsin River near the dam in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Jennifer Tice, front, and Edwin Cornell, both of Milwaukee, take photos of Bald Eagles at Ferry Bluff Eagle Council Overlook along the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Andrea Hoffman, collections manager at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, points to the feathers used for a DNA analysis testing the gender of the Civil War mascot "Old Abe." The results showed determined the bird was in fact a male bald eagle.Â
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Jesse Dabney, a postdoctoral researcher with the Molecular Archaeology Group at UW-Madison, speaks about the results of a DNA analysis testing the gender of the Civil War mascot "Old Abe" at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum on Thursday. The results showed that "Old Abe" was in fact a male bald eagle.Â
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A photo of Old Abe from 1876 that was considered "autographed" after he pecked a hole in it.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
