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Take a two hour Bald Eagle birdwatching birding trail tour by airboat up the Red River near Lake Texoma between Texas and Oklahoma. Watch and photograph our national bird in its' native wintering habitat. Guided birding tours for bird watching these birds have become popular since Lake Texoma, Red River, Texas and Oklahoma area became a wintering ground for the American Bald Eagle. This Texas birding excursion tour is designed for optimal scenery so bring your cameras and binoculars to catch some spectacular views of our national bird. Late December through early March the birds can be spotted on the birding trails along the Red River high in the trees. Their numbers peak with the best bird watching in January and February so all Bald Eagle birding trips are limited to January and February. Guaranteed Sightings |
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Bald Eagle birding trips and
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BIRDING INFORMATION ON WINTERING BALD EAGLES IN TEXAS / OKLAHOMA Texas and Oklahoma are important wintering and Texas birding areas for the Bald Eagle, consistently ranking among the top 10 states for numbers of birds. Thousands of eagles migrate south each winter from their nesting range and take up residence wherever they encounter open water and plentiful food. Because of the abundance of lakes and rivers and milder winter temperatures many eagles stop and winter in Texas and Oklahoma. This is why the Texas Red River is such exciting birding trails. These birds are quite sociable in their Texas birding and wintering grounds as compared to their aggressive territorial breeding season behavior.. They roost communally at night along birding trails in trees near a reliable food source. The same roost trees and birding areas traditionally used year after year. Usually the birds feed early in the morning on main lakes like Texoma and move to their roosts along the Red River in late afternoon. Between 1985 and 1990, the Wildlife Diversity Program with assistance released 90 eaglets in eastern OK, with a record mass release of 59 birds in 1990. That effort is just now taking root as can be witnessed along the birding trails of the Red River. Mature Bald Eagles can have 7-foot wingspans and is one of the largest birds of prey in the world. Adults are 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh 8 to 15 pounds. Like many predatory birds, the female is larger than the male, but size cannot be used conclusively for identification on these birding excursions. Male and female bald eagles are identical in color. The distinctive white head and tail mark a mature bird (at least 4 to 5 years old). Younger individuals are almost solid brown Both young and adult bald eagles have yellow legs. The young birds have a dark beak and black eyes, both of which turn bright yellow as they become adults. Although the life expectancy of wild eagles may be 30 years, some have lived 50 years in captivity. Their eyesight is five to six times sharper than a human’s and Bald Eagles fly 20 to 60 miles per hour in normal flight and dive at more than 100 miles an hour. The Eagle has come back from near extinction in the early '60s and '70s to the point where we have 40,000 in the
continental United States now. A ban on the pesticide DDT and a concerted effort to save the Bald Eagle have paid huge dividends. In 1972 only 800
breeding pairs could be found in the entire United States. Now over 900 eagles spend the winter in Texas alone. |
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