Test your eagle eyes at Mercer County spotting festival

As the number of bald eagles continue to soar in the state, so are the numbers of the previously endangered raptors congregating at local waterways in the winter.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Shenango River Lake near Hermitage in Mercer County is inviting the public to visit and potentially see many bald eagles for Eagle Fest on Saturday, Jan. 9.

The event is free and will feature Corps staff and volunteers directing the public to locations to see bald eagles wintering along the lake.

In February and March of this year, staff and volunteers tallied as many as 90 bald eagles at one time, said Bill Spring, resource manager at the Corps Shenango River Lake. Although that high number of birds was caused by a fish die-off, typically in the winter, 10 to 30 eagles can be seen in one day at the lake, he said.

The Corps is sponsoring Eagle Fest for the first time, Spring said, because “winter is much slower for outdoor recreation and we wanted to provide an opportunity for people to enjoy public lands and nature.” Also, outdoor nature watching is one of the safer activities during the pandemic, he added.

There are multiple access points and viewing areas around the lake.

“While weather conditions can vary with snow and ice, the best time to see the eagles is when we have partial ice coverage,” he said. Oftentimes, the birds can be seen standing on the ice, at the edge of the water, looking for fish.

Eagle Fest begins at Chestnut Run Swim Beach at 9 a.m. when park rangers will have results from the Corps national bald eagle survey at the lake from the previous day. The rangers will be able to tell the public the location of current eagle nests and where the birds were seen for the survey.

Participants will be given a map and a form to report the birds they see, which will be posted on the Corps’ social media sites.

There will be rangers stationed around the lake to answer questions. Public restrooms will not be open; visitors are advised to stop in one of the small towns near the park for food and rest breaks.

Bald eagles also congregate at other sites in the region in the winter, including the Army Corps’ Loyalhanna dam in Loyalhanna Township, Westmoreland County.

Throughout the state, during colder winters when open water is rare, eagles congregate where there is open water. Eagle hot spots include sites along Raystown Lake, the reservoirs and wetlands of northwestern Pennsylvania, the lower Susquehanna River and upper Delaware River, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.