GreenWire: Biologists spotted a record number of bald eagles at two lakes in southern Nevada during an annual count Monday, providing further evidence of the comeback that prompted the national bird’s removal from the endangered species list in 2007.
Bird-watchers at Lakes Mead and Mohave counted 163 bald eagles, more than three times as many as in 2000 and the most seen since the start of the annual count around 1980. The previous high was 116 bald eagles in 2008.
“It’s definitely the best year we’ve had,” said Dawn Fletcher, a research assistant at the Public Lands Institute of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Nevada state wildlife officials are wondering whether the strong numbers mean the lakes are becoming a permanent destination for the birds. Jef Jaeger, an assistant research professor at the Public Lands Institute, said cold weather may have caused this year’s spike, driving more eagles to migrate early from the Pacific Northwest (Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jan. 14). – GN