BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A volunteer-based nest-monitoring program is helping track the population of our nation’s symbol.
The Bald Eagle Nest Watch campaign is getting underway around the state. The effort is growing in Brown County, too.
High atop a tree in the village of Howard, two American Bald Eagles are on alert. Brown County Parks Department Assistant Naturalist Logan Lasee says it is one spot that is part of the annual Bald Eagle Nest Watch.
“What they do is on a weekly basis, beginning in about mid-February for this area, mid-January for around the rest of the state, they monitor the nest once a week for about an hour. And they’re watching for any movement from the eagles. What are their behaviors, and they’re watching for the babies or the fledglings.”
Lasee coordinates the initiative for Brown and Oconto counties. He says another site is in De Pere.
“The Bald Eagle nest that’s down at the Brown County Fairgrounds is very popular. A lot of people identify with that nest, because they see it when they go down for the fair, any of the events that go on down there.”
Experts say the big birds are making a comeback since the 1970s, after DDT was banned. They say the chemical made eagle eggs thin, causing many nests to fail. Lasee says conservation efforts are getting results, including the nest watch which has grown from 14 sites in 2018, to 204 last year. Brad Garrity runs Kaukauna’s program out the 1000 Islands Environmental Center.
“It helps with the counts of how many nests have fledglings, and then how many were successful at the end of the year. Last year for example, I believe it was an 83 percent success-rate with all the nests were monitored.”
Information will be sent to the Madison Audubon, where it will be used to help track population trends.
“It brings that awareness. It’s really connecting people with this species, which is probably one of the most important things when it comes to conservation,” said Lasee.
The Bald Eagle Nest Watch group is always looking volunteers.
Comments