Where to find bald eagles in Wichita

Wildlife watchers are some of the few who don’t regret it when Mother Nature sends cold weather to south-central Kansas. In those conditions, songbirds, such as cardinals and goldfinches, flock to feeders.

It’s also when bald eagles, frosted-top birds with 80-inch wingspans, descend upon the region.

“It’s always fun looking for eagles, but it’s the most fun in the wintertime,” said Bob Gress, wildlife photographer. “They’re a lot easier to see, and there’s just a lot more of them.”

That “a lot more” can lead to dozens of sightings per day and, when conditions are ideal, 100 is possible. Some of Kansas’ best eagle viewing can be within an easy drive of Wichita, if not in the middle of town.

Colder is better

Bald eagles might be seen in Kansas any time of the year. Once on the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states, the birds have done well enough they’ve been removed from the federal endangered and threatened species lists.

Kansas has contributed to the comeback. This spring, the state had more than 100 active bald eagle nests, including 28 in south-central Kansas. Sedgwick County’s six eagle nests produced nine eaglets, according to Charles Cope, a biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

According to Pete Janzen, co-author with Gress of “Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots,” the best eagle watching of the fall and winter is probably yet to come.

“What we really need is a really hard freeze and cold front up north,” Janzen said.

When lakes and rivers up north freeze, it is impossible for eagles to catch fish. More importantly, cold weather sends migrating flocks of ducks and geese, also a favored bald eagle food, southward, and bald eagles will come with them.

Once here, the visiting eagles will be wherever they can find fish or waterfowl.

“Anybody that wants to see bald eagles in Kansas just has to head to the largest lakes,” said Gress.

El Dorado, Cheney and Lake Afton should all have eagles, Gress said.

Kevin Groeneweg, a local birder, recently saw a bald eagle at Harvey County East Lake.

Good viewing

Eagle watching will get more interesting when it gets cold enough to cover smaller lakes, like private watershed and community lakes, in ice. That will push the birds to larger reservoirs and major rivers. Wichitans have easy access to one of each.

When conditions are right, there can be some mind-boggling viewing.

The stars aligned just right for Janzen on Jan. 26, 2014, when he counted 360 bald eagles from one vantage point at the Cheney Reservoir. He estimates he saw another 100 eagles at other parts of the lake.

“The larger ‘ooh-ahh’ gatherings are triggered by deep cold ‘Polar Express’ weather events in the northern plains and especially I think the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi basin,” Janzen said in an e-mail. “They love it when they make it to Kansas where lakes and streams are starting to freeze up but still have significant areas of open water. So the ideal scenario is a big, huge, horrifyingly cold polar express event at latitudes to our north, with things starting to freeze up here.”

Birding at Cheney can be done from a car on the good roads around the lake, according to Janzen. The northeast side of the lake can be especially productive. Be sure to take binoculars and scan the trees on the opposite side of the lake.

While it’s possible to see bald eagles along the Arkansas River any time of the year, the colder the better as the birds come to town to fish and hunt waterfowl on the moving water that doesn’t freeze.

“All the way down from ‘Keeper of the Plains’ to Watson Park is probably best,” Gress said. “Just scan the cottonwood trees as you’re cruising down McLean.”

Eagles commonly gather to fish and hunt ducks at area sandpits, which are often deep enough not to freeze. The sandpit near Twin Lakes near 21st and Amidon has long been a popular place to view bald eagles.

Tom Ewert, a local birder active in the Wichita Audubon Society, said it’s not uncommon to spot a dozen or more bald eagles along the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita during the group’s annual Christmas bird count.

People wanting to see bald eagles shouldn’t procrastinate and wait for warmer weather. The birds can disappear as rapidly as they show up.

“When the water here freezes over completely, or if it gets all nice and warm and sunny with lots of thawing, the eagles disperse and move on in rapid fashion,” Janzen said. “They have no site loyalty. It is all driven by easy pickings in the food department.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Where to find bald eagles in Wichita."