APPLE RIVER — The Eagle Nature Foundation (ENF) has just announced the dates for its 61st Annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Count to be Jan. 30 and 31, 2021. On these days hundreds of volunteers will be searching the skies and trees for bald eagles from Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota to Tennessee and from Indiana to Nebraska to document the bald eagles that are wintering in their areas. If anyone is interested in joining this effort to document the wintering bald eagles, they should contact the Eagle Nature Foundation.

Bald eagles normally wintered along the waterways and still do to some extent, but they seem to not be able to find the necessary food they need, so many of them are moving inland to look for road kills and other carrion. Immature bald eagle numbers peaked about the years 2001-04. Their adult numbers peaked about 2008-10. For the past eight years the percentage of young has been declining and now the numbers of adults are declining as well.

The cause for this poor reproduction must be determined before it is too late. Wintering areas which had as many as 800 bald eagles at their peak now have only 10 or 20. There are many things affecting the present bald eagle population including: West Nile Virus, Wisconsin River Eagle Syndrome, bald eagle hepacivirus, vehicle trauma, and lead poisoning.

Determining which of these is the cause for their poor reproduction is not going to be an easy task. The first step is to determine what the population is presently, which will be determined by the results of the Annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Count. They need many more volunteers to thoroughly cover the above-described area in two days of the count. For count forms, please call 815-594-2306 or write ENF, 300 East Hickory St., Apple River, IL 61001.