KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The return of an eagle program offers a unique opportunity to watch them grow.
The 1000 Islands Environmental Center, along with the Madison Audubon announced the Bald Eagle Nest Watch program is looking for volunteers to assist in its research and conservation efforts.
The program, which started in 2018, began in southern Wisconsin. In 2020-2021, 1000 Islands Environmental Center partnered with the program coordinators to bring the project to the Fox Valley, where over 20 nests were monitored with help from 60 volunteers. That first year, numerous nests produced three fledglings, which is uncommonly productive for Bald Eagles, and one nest included four eaglets and three adults.
In addition to including the Fox Valley/Green Bay areas, the program has expanded again in 2022-2023 to bring nest watching to central Wisconsin, Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire (through Beaver Creek Reserve), the Manitowoc area (Woodland Dunes Nature Center), and Door County (The Ridges Sanctuary).
“This has been a very rewarding program for us,” say Debra Nowak, Director/Naturalist at 1000 Islands Environmental Center and Fox Valley area BENW coordinator, “The data collection is fantastic, but my favorite part is to see how excited the volunteers get when they witness a new milestone in the nest.”
Volunteers spend an hour at a nest once per week from February through June or July. No experience is necessary, and training is provided on how to track behaviors like nest building, mating, and egg laying, in addition to counting the numbers of eaglets hatched and fledged. This valuable data has been used by the Wisconsin DNR and researchers to understand impacts on population health.
- Click here to sign up and volunteer
Bald Eagles have made a comeback from the brink of extinction in the early 1970s. In March 2022, eagle nests were confirmed in all 70 Wisconsin counties for the first time in modern history.
