Bald eagle nests are massive stick assemblages built in trees or on cliffs.

The East Cascades Audubon Society sponsors the winter raptor survey. It will complete 20 years of data collection on raptors from over 500 routes in the western U.S., including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Montana and Utah.

Over the years, red-tail hawks, American kestrels, northern harriers, bald eagles and rough-legged hawks have made up the majority of sightings.

Jeff Fleisher, who is in charge of the survey and analyzes the data collected, indicated that bald eagles accounted for 20% of the birds counted in January. The percentage increased to 24.1% for the month of February. These percentages are slightly higher than they were in 2022.

Thus, overall bald eagles did better than last winter. This is also true for the bald eagles observed on the Peninsula this this winter.

This photo essay focuses on the bald eagle.