VERMONT — Attention, bird lovers. Your eagle-spotting skills are needed for the 2017 Mid-winter Eagle Survey.
From Jan. 4-18, Vermont Audubon Society hopes to document as many eagles in Vermont as possible for this annual count.
If you see an eagle in Vermont during the survey period, email the following information to Margaret Fowle at [email protected]:
•  Date.
•  Location.
•  Time of day.
•  Number of Bald or Golden Eagles seen.
•  Approximate age of the eagles (i.e., adult Bald Eagle with white head and tail, or immature that is mostly brown)
•  Any notable behavior (i.e., carrying nesting material, flying with another eagle, etc.).
Bald Eagles are making a strong comeback in Vermont and throughout the U.S. Audubon Vermont works with Vermont Fish & Wildlife to coordinate the winter eagle survey and helps monitor breeding eagles in the Connecticut River Valley.
Bald Eagle numbers have increased substantially during the past two decades, and Vermont is now host to 21 territorial pairs. Increases in Bald Eagle populations have resulted from a combination of factors; these include the banning of DDT in North America, an effective reintroduction program and the protection of Bald Eagle breeding and wintering habitat through the Endangered Species Act.
Vermont conducted its own reintroduction program from 2004-2006, releasing 29 eagles in the town of Addison — in particular in the Dead Creek area. Vermont is close to reaching its recovery goals for downlisting from state endangered status to threatened.
In the 2015 winter survey, the area between the Champlain Bridge and Shelburne Point on Lake Champlain supported the largest concentration of Bald Eagles (16 adults, 11 immatures) in the state. The overall numbers are well above totals of full surveys in recent years.
Since 1979, volunteers have been keeping tabs on bald eagles as part of Vermont Audubon’s annual winter bald eagle survey.
For more information on Bald Eagles in Vermont, or to report sightings, contact Margaret Fowle at [email protected] or (802) 434-3068.