The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Those who were among the several hundred people who witnessed the American Bald Eagles perched near the Forest Service Interpretive Area on the west end of Sisters last week might consider themselves very fortunate.

It isn’t every day a person can go grocery shopping, pick up auto parts, dry-cleaning or stop at a restaurant and see a couple of adult bald eagles.

This time of year, bald eagles are usually repairing their nests from last winter’s snow and ice damage, or out scrounging for something dead.

The two eagles hanging out near Three Wind Shopping Center are probably not looking for a place to nest — unless someone nearby is into feeding birds in a big way.

Food is usually the big attraction that keeps any bird close to people. For eagles, that would mean a dead deer or house pet, an overturned fish truck, or dead livestock — none of which was evident at the west end of Sisters last week.

It won’t be long before the ground squirrels wake from their long winter sleep and lure bald eagles to a feast. Eagle watchers might head over to the road between Paulina and Post around March 15. They will see about 15 to 20 bald eagles feasting on ground squirrels.

One of the reasons bald eagles are so successful in locating food is that they are — at most times — communal. They enjoy being around others of their kind. In springtime, when ground squirrels become available, it is a good time to renew old friendships, reinforce pair bonding and teach the young about finding and catching prey.

The recovery of bald eagle populations throughout the Northwest is the result of cooperation between private and public agencies in preserving habitat and providing safe places for eagles to fly, locate prey and perch.

In the mid-1960s there were fewer than 50 active nests in Oregon.

There are more than 400 today.