Eagles nest in Black Hills

After walks in rain and fog earlier this summer, hikers on the final Black Hills National Forest Moon Walk for 2009 enjoyed perfect weather! Nearly 160 people turned out for the short trek to the north shore of Deerfield Reservoir west of Hill City last Saturday (9/5/09) to learn about bald eagles. That may not be a record number of hikers, but it certainly exceeds numbers we’ve seen this year.

It’s a testament to a wonderful program sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service. While the Forest Service gets thumped alongside its head for a variety of decisions it has made across the country, they surely deserve a pat on the back for their Moon Walk program.

Of course, the monthly hikes – scheduled around full moons during the summer months – give USFS personnel a chance to mend political fences and increase public understanding about the terrific resource available to citizens in this region: the Black Hills National Forest. They’ve been doing the walks for 14 years, according to Amy Ballard, who’s been coordinating the events since their inception,

Our guide for the September outing was Lou Conroy, a native South Dakotan who grew up at Pine Ridge and later earned a degree in Biology from Black Hills State University in Spearfish. A wildlife biologist out of the Mystic District office, Conroy also has a Master’s degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins and has been with the Forest Service for some 12 years.

The real stars of this Moon Walk were bald eagles. Alas, they were in absentia, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Conroy or the throng of hikers who eagerly listened to the story about bald eagles and the discovery of their nesting at Deerfield Reservoir – believed to be a first in the Black Hills.

Perched in the trees along the north edge of Deerfield Reservoir is a nest that Conroy and his cohorts say is the first nesting site for bald eagles in the Black Hills. While it’s fairly common to see bald eagles wintering in this region, it’s a first to find them nesting and raising their young here.

Conroy says the Deerfield Reservoir nest was started in 2007, but then abandoned for some unknown reason. The bald eagles came back in 2008 and were successful in raising at least one eaglet that flew from the nest. Observers were anxious to see similar results this spring.

“Everything was on schedule this year, but by the second week in May they were gone,” said Conroy, who believes that April and May storms may have caused a problem in the nest. Whatever the reason, the nest was again abandoned, but hopes are high that the eagles will return and begin the nesting process again this winter.

You’ll find more information and photographs of the “Bald Eagles” Moon Walk to Deerfield Reservoir in our Moon Walk Gallery.

A tip of the hat to Amy Ballard and the many other Forest Service specialists who contributed to another great year of Moon Walks across the Black Hills National Forest.

We’re already anxious to see the schedule for next year – perhaps visiting some new locations and re-visiting other favorites for 2010.