Bald Eagle Watching Days

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DNR

media release: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites the public to participate in the annual Bald Eagle Watching Days happening on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 in Sauk Prairie. All Bald Eagle Watching Days events are free and open to the public.

Bald eagle lovers can watch eagles soar above the Wisconsin River from a newly renovated overlook located at 490 Water St. in Prairie du Sac. Volunteers will be available at the overlook to answer questions and help visitors spot eagles from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Visitors can also enjoy live raptor shows in the River Arts Center of the Sauk Prairie High School, featuring educational birds and trainers from the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee, a screening of a recently recorded rehabilitated bald eagle release with a live expert Q&A session and more family-friendly activities. Full details are available on the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council website, including self-guided tours.

“Every once in a while, we need to take stock of how far we’ve come in the effort to conserve bald eagles,” said Sumner Matteson, DNR avian ecologist. “In 1974, there were only 107 breeding pairs in a handful of northern counties in Wisconsin. Fifty years later, we have around 1,700 pairs with bald eagles nesting in all 72 counties.”

Bald Eagle Watching Days celebrates eagles as they gather in winter areas, providing fantastic viewing opportunities as eagles from northern Wisconsin, Canada, northern Michigan and Minnesota move south in search of food. These raptors have a diet that includes both carrion and fish. When hunting for fish, they congregate in open water areas below dams along the Wisconsin, Mississippi and Fox rivers, where their growing presence has turned the sites into birdwatching destinations and inspired community events.

This event is cosponsored by Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, the Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce, the DNR and the Tripp Museum in Prairie du Sac.

Eagle Watching Tips

The best time to see foraging eagles will be in the early morning (8-10 a.m.) as they depart their nighttime communal roosts to feed along the river and two hours before dusk as they return to their roosts.

When viewing eagles at these events or on your own, biologists advise onlookers not to venture too close as it will cause the eagles to fly off. Guests are encouraged to stay in their cars unless they are at a staffed viewing site.

Schedule:

JAN 18, 2025. River Arts Center, 105 9th St.

9 am: Lobby Open / Ticket Pick-up

10-4 pm: Expo and Kid Activities

10-11:15 am: Live Birds of Prey by Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

11:30-12:30 pm: “Laughing with Animals” by David Stokes

12:30-1:30 pm: Kids STEM Activity by Thermo Fish Scientific

1:30-2:45 pm: Live Birds of Prey by Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

3:00-4:30 pm: Eagle Release Video and Q&A with Raptor Education Group (REGI)

Jan 18, 2025, 8-4 pm; Jan 19, 2025, 8-2 pm, at Overlook, 490 Water Street: Eagle Viewing

Jan 18, 2025, Tripp Museum, 565 Water Street: 9-4 pm: Bird Collection; 11-11:45 pm: “Native American History and the Spirit of the Bald Eagle” by Art and Dawn Shegonee

Jan 18, 2025, 9-4 pm, Ruth Culver Library, 540 Water Street: Kids Activities