WILLOW CREEK — The annual Pleasant Lake bald eagle count recorded 14 individual eagles on its February survey date, the highest total since the count began in 2010, and the spectacle is drawing a growing number of birders and sightseers to the lake’s frozen shoreline.
The count, conducted by volunteers from the Pleasant Lake Protective Association, tracks eagles that gather to feed on open water below the lake’s dam. This year’s tally included seven adults and seven juveniles, association president Harold Bunker said.
“We’ve had people drive up from Houlton, from Bangor, even one couple from Massachusetts who saw the count mentioned on a birding forum,” Bunker said. “They set up spotting scopes on the boat launch and stayed for three hours.”
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife estimates the state’s bald eagle population at more than 750 nesting pairs, a dramatic recovery from the 1970s, when DDT use pushed the species to the brink of extirpation.
Town officials are considering installing a permanent viewing platform at the lake’s outlet. “Eagle tourism is real,” said Selectwoman Eleanor Vance. “People will travel a long way for a good look at a bald eagle.”