Published: March 13, 2009 08:32 pm      

Eagle eyes: Volunteers combing region’s skies in raptor survey

PIPESTEM — Several volunteers from around the region will be keeping their eyes focused on the skies above Four Seasons Country today as the Pipestem State Park Nature Center hosts its mid-March eagle survey.

That’s right. A few American bald eagles — the symbol of the United States — as well as a few golden eagles, have been seen in greater numbers regionally, and volunteers are working to get a better handle on the local population.

“We have occasionally seen them here since the 1970s,” Jim Phillips, Pipestem State Park naturalist, said. “During the past 6 or 7 years, we have started seeing them with some regularity. Six years ago, we were seeing them 10 months out of the year, four years ago, we saw them in every month and for the past two years, we have seen them 49-52 weeks of the year.”

Based on the frequency and locations of the bald and golden eagle sightings, Phillips said he things there are as many as 10 bald eagles and possibly as many as 6 golden eagles nesting in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. Pipestem hosted an eagle survey on the first Saturday in January, in each of the past two years. Phillips said the volunteers decided to add a mid-March survey date in an effort to determine where the eagles are nesting.

Both bald and golden eagles are among the most majestic raptors in North America, with wingspans of the golden eagle of 7-8 feet wide, and of course, the distinctive markings of the bald eagle making them both instantly recognizable. Phillips said that he and his wife will be on Pitts Road at the mouth of the Bluestone River near the Lilly Bridge from 10 a.m., to 2 p.m., and that he will help people look for the eagles.

“A lot of people don’t realize that they are here,” Phillips said. “It’s easier to spot them if you are with an experienced observer.”

Bald eagles were placed on the endangered species list in 1967, and Phillips said a major hurdle in the eagle population recovery came in 1972 when the government banned the use of DDT. “The DDT was getting into eagles through the fish and animals in their diets and causing them to produce thin-shelled eggs,” Phillips said. “Their off-spring weren’t surviving.”

Phillips said that when the eagle population began to recover in the Chesapeake Bay region, new generations of eagles started moving westward, and started nesting in areas with plentiful water resources. “We have water resources in our area. Pipestem works with volunteers from the Three Rivers Raptors Center, the Bibbee Nature Club as well as people from the National Park Service. In 2008, Phillips said about 30 volunteers participated in the eagle survey, but he expects there will be about 20-25 working in today’s survey.

“Eagles have been removed from the endangered species list, but they are still protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as well as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act,” Phillips said. He said the volunteers will be out conducting the survey regardless of the weather today.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com