Ferry Bluff Eagle Council has worked for over three decades to provide habitat along the Lower Wisconsin River for Bald Eagles and for people throughout the year. One of our activities is to monitor eagle numbers in winter and the accompanying table presents our recent results. Eagles are tallied from two primary areas, up river which includes two night roosts (traditional, communal perches where eagles sleep at night) and is located near the Sauk Prairie, and four roosts located down river from Cassell to Lone Rock. In cold and snowy conditions, eagles tend to concentrate in the Sauk Prairie area because open water remains while the remainder of the river is frozen. In mild conditions, eagles disperse along open stretches of the Wisconsin River. Since eagles gather in our area during winter, people gather to view them and that brings, on average, three quarters of a million dollars each winter to our local economy. Eagles and people thus benefit the other which is successful ecotourism. We will publish our count results every other week during winter so that you can follow how this human/eagle collaboration unfolds.
