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Midwinter Raptor Count

Every year scientists and bird-watchers throughout the country participate in the national Midwinter Bald Eagle Count.  This count was started in 1979 by the National Wildlife Federation.  Each year, count participants travel a designated route and count and record the number of eagles they see.  The count is now administered by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The ESER Program coordinates the Midwinter Raptor Count on and around the INL.  Counters tally not just eagles, but all birds of prey, as well as ravens and shrikes.  Eagles, hawks, falcons and owls are collectively called birds of prey or raptors.  Ravens are included in the count because they function ecologically as raptors.  Shrikes, predatory songbirds known to impale their prey on thorns and barbed wire, are included because of concerns about declining populations.

Birds of prey are an important part of the environment.  Since raptors are at the top end of the food chain, they act as a biological indicator of environmental problems.  This count is not a complete census of the entire wintering population on the INL, but it is an index of the species' abundance and distribution, which can be compared year to year.

Data from the count are submitted to an Idaho State Coordinator.  Information submitted by all of the states to the USGS is analyzed to monitor trends in the populations of eagles throughout the United States.

The information gleaned from this count is important locally as well. Good resource management requires a knowledge of wildlife populations, including raptors, in the area being managed. 

Cumulative data from past surveys