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Results of ENF’s 2022 Midwinter Bald Eagle count
bald eagle
Flying bald eagles should not be overlooked when seeing wing span greater than 7 feet.

APPLE RIVER, Ill. – Terrence Ingram, President of the Eagle Nature Foundation and compiler for its Annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Count released the results of this year’s count which was conducted Jan. 29-30, with a great majority of the birds counted before 11 a.m. on Jan. 29, to reduce any duplication of numbers. 

This count is conducted by hundreds of volunteers from Northern Minnesota to Tennessee and from Indiana to Nebraska. The volunteers are members of the Fish & Wildlife Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, conservation organizations and private individuals, throughout this area. 

A total of 2,170 bald eagles were counted. Of these birds, 1,594 were adults, 98 were sub-adults, 421 were immatures and 57 birds with age undetermined. This is in comparison to the 2021 count which had a total of 1,850 birds, where 1,431 were adults, 65 were sub-adults 301 were immatures and 53 with age undetermined. The overall percentage of immatures to adults in 2021 was 20.4%, while it was 24.6% in 2022, an increase of 4%. For a healthy bald eagle population this percentage should be above 30%. 

The number of adult bald eagles on the Mississippi River was 1,024 in 2021 and 1,049 in 2022. These numbers are close to being the same with an increase of only 15 birds. The number of sub-adults in 2021 was 33, while it was 63 in 2022, almost twice the number. The number of immatures was 183 in 2021 and 246 in 2022 an increase of 63 birds. The percentage of immatures to adults was 17.4% in 2021 and 22.8 % in 2022, a 5.4% increase. 

Some lockmasters on the Mississippi River conducted hourly counts on both Saturday and Sunday. These hourly counts help determine how much migration was taking place during the two count days, which is why only the counts that are considered for the total numbers are those that were conducted in a two-hour period, but even then, these hourly counts indicate that there could be some duplication of numbers. There is a definite possibility of duplication of numbers with the Fish and Wildlife yearly bald eagle count that is conducted over a two-week period right in the middle of the southward bald eagle migration. 

A full copy of the results of the 2022 Annual Midwinter Count may be obtained by writing to: Eagle Nature Foundation, 300 East Hickory Street, Apple River, IL 61001, or calling 815-594-2306.