Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2021 Winter Bald Eagle Survey in January. Community scientists braved the winter weather during the first two weeks of January and tallied at least 90 Bald Eagles throughout the state.

The official survey, which occurs on 15 standard routes throughout the state, had a total of 45 Bald Eagles (26 adults and 19 immatures) on the January 9 target date. This number is below the record number of 68 counted in 2020, but greater than three of the previous four years. Bald Eagles were located on nine of the standard routes, including three routes along Lake Champlain, two routes along the Connecticut River, Lamoille River, West River, and Winooski River. The area between the Champlain Bridge and Charlotte on Lake Champlain supported the largest concentration of Bald Eagles in the state. 14 adults and 13 immature Bald Eagles were tallied on this stretch of the lake during the survey!

Numerous additional eagles were reported during the survey period throughout the state, including one Golden Eagle. Many of the additional Bald Eagle sightings could not be ruled out as possible duplicates, but we estimated that 46 eagles (35 adults and 11 immatures) were exceptions, bringing our total count during the survey period to 91 Bald Eagles.