MONROE COUNTY, Indiana — While many birds fly south for the winter, bird watchers know now is the best season to view one of the most majestic: the bald eagle.
"The bald eagle is of course the symbol of our country," said Jill Vance.
Vance is a naturalist at Monroe Lake and she's passionate about eagles.
"They're a really neat bird and they have the advantage of being a very recognizable bird," Vance said.
Vance said eagles spend around 90% of their time perching. Winter is a great time to spot them because there are no leaves on the trees hiding them from view. Around Monroe Lake, she has a good idea of where to find them. There was a nest in one area that had been previously abandoned and fell down.
"I don't know if it'll discourage them from taking that same location, or if they'll establish a slightly different spot," Vance said.
Around the lake, eagles are most active around 10 a.m. and an hour or two before sunset. To get a glimpse of them, take a pair of binoculars and scan the upper third of the tree line.
Bald eagles left Indiana around 1900. Nesting in the state had stopped. Then, in the 1980s, naturalists helped bring them back.
"From there, the Eagles have really recovered and really kind of spread throughout the state, and so we really like to highlight them here at our property and the role that we had in reintroducing them," Vance said.
13News viewers have shared other places they've spotted America's bird:
- Near Heartland Crossing in Camby
- Pine Lakes in Pendleton
- Hamilton Proper in Fishers
- Thatcher Golf course in Speedway
- Prairie Creek Reservoir
- Summit Lake State Park in Muncie
- Hawthorne Lakes in Lafayette
The Monroe Lake self-guided tour runs Jan. 22-30. To make the self-guided tour more fun, there is also a scavenger hunt that includes the chance to win a 2022 Indiana State Parks pass.