Bald Eagles

Bald Eagles are starting to become regular visitors to the Los Vaqueros Watershed. For the last several years, they've been seen between the months of December and March.

Watershed Resource Specialist Bill Chilson said the majestic eagles are known to winter within the 20,000-acre watershed, and are often found near the West Fork of Kellogg Creek (north of the Marina) where the scraggy trees in the water give the eagles an excellent perch to find food.

"They're not very good hunters," he said. "They'll eat just about anything, but most of their diet consists of dead fish," he added.
Photographer Steve Thuman shot this photo of the adult Bald Eagles at Los Vaqueros in February 2005
Spring Time
In the spring, the eagles will most-likely head back up north as far as Canada or Alaska, though sometimes they do hang around the Bay Area for the summer. Chilson said there was a nesting pair last year at Lake Del Valle south of Livermore and in the Bay Area there were eight known nesting pairs.

He hopes a pair of Bald Eagles decides to make Los Vaqueros home one of these days. With a wingspan of up to 80 inches, seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild is a memorable experience. The National Bird, Bald Eagles are listed as a threatened species.