A Gathering of Bald Eagles--Lawrence
A Gathering of Bald Eagles--Lawrence
Location: Downtown Lawrence, along the Kansas River just East of the Hwy US-59 bridge.
Fee: None
Special Note: --Seasonal Attraction--Winter Only, during cold weather
Contact: Before traveling a long distance to witness the gathering of Bald Eagles, it would be a good idea to contact the Lawrence Convention and Visitor Bureau, Phone: 785/865-4411.
Photos Copyright H. Schuster. Please ask permission before use.
You
need not travel to Alaska or some other remote wilderness to view
Bald Eagles as they catch fish in the wild. Along the Kansas River in
downtown Lawrence, the eagles gather to take advantage of some of the only open
water for hundreds of miles. The eagles will likely be present here any
time from about mid-December to March if the temperatures have been below about
20 degrees for a week or so. When all the other area lakes, streams, and
rivers have frozen over, this small stretch of Kansas River remains open due to
a small low water dam located here. Best to check with the contact
above before traveling any distance to view the eagles to make sure the eagles
will be there.
An adult Bald Eagle soars above the Kansas River. This was once a common site, and hopefully it will be again.
Our
National Symbol, the Bald Eagle, was once quite common along the
Kansas River. In fact, just west of Lawrence is the small town of
Lecompton, which was originally called Bald Eagle due to the large concentration
of the birds there in the 1850's.
By the 1960's, however, Bald Eagles teetered on the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states. Indiscriminate shooting of the birds, as well as the insecticide DDT, had reduced their numbers to dangerously low levels.
The young Bald Eagle perched in a cottonwood tree (photo, left) is symbolic of the dramatic rebound of the species. The banning of DDT in the United States and the enactment of very strict laws regarding the shooting of eagles in the early 1970's led to the bird's come back. Today, Kansas even has several nesting pairs, something that would have been unheard of just a few years ago.