Decorah volunteers will help count golden eagles

Golden eagle (note the markings on the wings)

When the 10th Annual Wintering Golden Eagle Survey takes place in counties on either side of the Mississippi River this Saturday, a number of Decorah residents will be helping with the survey by looking for golden eagles.

Golden Eagle Project Co-coordinator Scott Mehus from the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MInnesota was in Decorah over the weekend, training eagle spotters.

Survey volunteers will caravan in their own vehicles to golden eagle habitat in the area, hoping to spot some golden eagles.  The survey is part of an on-going project to learn more about the golden eagle population in the blufflands region.

Previously it was thought that golden eagles were not regular inhabitants of the bluffland in Northeast Iowa, Southeastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.  But last year's survey counted over 160 golden eagles.

The Wintering Golden Eagle Survey gathers important data to document a regular wintering population of golden eagles in the blufflands of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.