Mid-Winter Raptor Survey

Mary Read, of the Bureau of Land Management, outside, and Will Schultz, of Wyoming Game and Fish, glass over land on HWY 70 on Jan. 9 while looking for raptor nests for an annual mid-winter survey.

The visibility was low for surveying flying or perched raptors, but the survey crew could easily count ducks off a bridge. All wildlife seen were inventoried during the surveys, for which there were 24 employees of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and 28 volunteers.

One of five bald eagles seen on the Encampment Survey Route flies away as surveyors approach. Forty-six adult bald eagles, 19 immature bald eagles, 39 adult golden eagles, 27 immature golden eagles, three unknown golden eagles and 12 unknown eagles were spotted by surveyors in south central Wyoming, 146 total.