The majestic bald eagle soars in Idaho communities

Last week while fishing with friends on Perkins Lake, I had the remarkable opportunity to see a bald eagle in action, snatching a fish from the surface of the water. Majestic, breathtaking, inspiring, and just plain awesome. Those may be just a few of the phrases used to describe what it feels like to watch a bald eagle silently soar overhead or dip into the water to grab a meal.

Observing these amazing birds in the wild is an unreal, but frequent occurrence in Boundary County during the course of the year in areas along the Kootenai River or in various lakes throughout the county.

Boundary County is a bald eagle mecca. In the area around Bonners Ferry, eagle watchers are sure to have excellent viewing opportunities. My favorite locations to see nesting pairs include Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge, Perkins Lake and McArthur Lake Wildlife Manage-ment Area. Eagles are also abundant along Lake Coeur d’Alene, Lake Pend Oreille and sections of Priest River in North Idaho

Habitat and Diet

Though their numbers have grown in much of their range, bald eagles remain most abundant in Alaska and Canada.

These powerful birds of prey use their talons to fish, but they get many of their meals by scavenging carrion or stealing the kills of other animals. (Such thievery famously prompted Ben Franklin to argue against the bird's nomination as the United State's national symbol.)

Bald eagles live near water and favor coasts and lakes where fish are plentiful, though they will also snare and eat small mammals.

The bald eagle is a carnivore with an average life span in the wild of up to 28 years. His wing span is up to 7 feet wide and weighs from 7 to 14 pounds. The largest bald eagle nest on record was 9.5 feet wide and 20 feet high. It weighed more than two tons.

Breeding

Bald eagles are believed to mate for life. A pair constructs an enormous stick nest — one of the bird-world's biggest — high above the ground and tends to a pair of eggs each year.

Immature eagles are dark and, until they are about five years old, they lack the distinctive white markings that make their parents so easy to identify.

Young eagles will often roam a great distance.

In the midair mating ritual, one eagle will flip upside down and lock talons with another. Both tumble, then break apart to continue flight. Thought to mate for life, they have been known to switch mates if not successful reproducing.