Bald eagles are a definitely winter staple for us birdwatchers who enjoy coming to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the months of December through February.
Almost daily during the coldest months of the year a few of these iconic raptors can be found on the refuge auto tour route, typically perched out on the frozen marsh somewhere along the gravel roadway on the southern portion of the loop.
Bald eagles migrate to wetland habitats here in northern Utah like the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to feed upon a variety of ducks that spend their winters on the Great Salt Lake and adjoining wetlands.
I have personally seen as many as two dozen or more bald eagles out on the refuge on a single birdwatching trip but only during the months of January and February when the peak of the winter bald eagle viewing season is at hand.
On Saturday, however, I came across a most unusual and quite early bald eagle sighting on the bird refuge as I was headed down Forest Street on my way to the auto loop.
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About halfway down the drive, I came across a lone bald eagle perched on a power pole, shown by the photo above, something not commonly seen on the bird refuge in late October for sure.
I’m 100% confident this particular bald eagle, however, isn’t an early migrant but rather from one of the two known nesting bald eagle pairs here in Box Elder County as it is just way too early and much too warm to start seeing migrating bald eagles in northern Utah.
I have been back to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a couple times since that first and most unusual bald eagle sighting on Saturday but have yet to find him again.
So if you are planning to do some birdwatching on the bird refuge in the near future, keep a look out as you might get lucky and see a bald eagle in October.
If you want to come to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the winter months to see the bald eagles or even the rough-legged hawks, both migratory raptors only seen on the refuge during the coldest months of the year, I offer you to head on over to our subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts and we’ll keep you informed on when the wintering bald eagles and rough-legged hawks have arrived.
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