Eagles sightings continue in Oklahoma City

In a tree bare of leaves, an eagle family is thriving in northeast Oklahoma City. And across central Oklahoma, other eagles are being sighted.

An eagle with two eaglets was spotted recently near Hefner Road and Midwest Boulevard. Birdwatchers and others have noticed the nest on private land and have viewed the eagles.

Eagles have made a comeback since being endangered in past decades, and it is not uncommon for eagles to be found in undeveloped parts of Oklahoma City, said Jena Donnell, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Eagle-watching days were held recently at Lake Thunderbird in Norman and Lake Arcadia in Edmond, and eagles were spotted in parts of north Oklahoma City at Lake Hefner, Lake Overholser and Martin Park Nature Center, said members of the Oklahoma City Audubon Society.

"It's really exciting that people are able to see them," Donnell said.

In late November and early December, a number of people spotted an American bald eagle in a tree at Martin Park Nature Center. The eagle swooped from a tree to a pond by a playground as sight-seers watched.

Members of the Oklahoma City Audubon Society saw the eagle at Martin Park Nature Center during a bird count last year.

Will Hagenbuck, the Martin Park Nature Center naturalist, said the eagle didn't stick around through the winter months. On a recent day in late March, Hagenbuck said the eagle had not been spotted lately.

"They should be nesting by now," he said.

Grace Huffman, a member of the Oklahoma City Audubon Society, said she saw an eagle during a watch event at Lake Arcadia in Edmond in early January. She also saw one on a winter day out "birding." She was able to get a photograph of a juvenile eagle this winter, she said, and other bird enthusiasts also got plenty of photos during the eagle-watching season.

At Lake Arcadia, park spokesman Casey Moore said not as many eagles have been seen there lately.

"The number of eagles we saw this year was down from previous years, and we have not spotted one in over a month," Moore said. "This could be attributed to a later winter cool down to the north or to increased activity around the lake, but we don’t know exactly."

He said Lake Arcadia will continue to host annual eagle-watching events.