Quarterly Eagle Count at Jordan Lake
What is this project?
This quarterly eagle count at Jordan Lake is intended to monitor the long-term population change since the creation of Jordan Lake in 1974. The national bird of the US, the Bald Eagle, was in deep decline due to DDT with only about 400 pairs in the lower 48 states in the 1950s. Since the banning of DDT in 1972, the population of bald eagles has recovered across North America. The data collected from the quarterly eagle count can inform us of how the eagle population has changed here at Jordan Lake since 1986. In collaboration with Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, the New Hope Bird Alliance calls for volunteers to cover eagle count sites and continue this multi-decade effort of bald eagle monitoring at Jordan Lake.
When will the count happen?
On the second Sunday of January, April, July, and October every year. The next count in 2025 is April 13.
How can I participate in this project?
You can sign up by checking the available count sites (see map and key below) and contacting Dustin Bigford.
What is the count protocol?
- On the count day at the designated site, volunteers will start their stationary eagle count at around 7:00 am and finish the count at about 8:30 am.
- Volunteers will fill up a datasheet using Google Forms. We recommend saving the link to the Google Form on your phone’s home page for easy access at the count site. If the reception is poor at your count site, we recommend recording the count data on a notes app that doesn’t require internet or bring a printed sheet and submit the result later at home using the Google Forms.
- Whenever volunteers detect a new eagle, volunteers should enter a new record of the eagle including the description of the eagle such as adult/immature, missing feathers, unique behavior and characteristics as well as the time, location, and movement of the eagle. For example:
- a. 7:05-7:08 appeared from SE, 50 m east of the Farrington Rd bridge.
- b. 7:15-7:16 flew towards W and perched on top of pines on the W side of the lake.
- c. 7:17-7:45 moved slightly between trees but remained in the same area.
How to submit your data?
Volunteers will directly submit the Google Form to submit data.
| Site | Description/Parking Info | Count Location | Counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Game Land - Transis Camp Rd. (Parking). | Walk along the powerline cut to the end of the spit. | |
| 3 | Jordan Lake Game Lands at Northeast Creek (Parking). | Walk to the edge. | |
| 4 | Jordan Game Land by 751 close to a gas station (Parking) . | Walk to the west edge. | Bo Howes |
| 5 | Marthas Chapel Road (Parking). | Off of Marthas Chapel Rd. and Farrington Rd., park at turnaround and walk to the water. | Jin Bai |
| 8 | Farrington Point Boat Ramp (Parking). | At the boat launch area. | David Anderson |
| 9 | NC Forest HQ (Parking). | Walk along the field to here. | Tom Driscoll |
| 10 | Crosswinds campground boat ramp (Parking). | At the ramp. | Don Pelly |
| 11 | Ebenezer Boat Launch (Parking). | At the ramp. | Angela Clendenin |
| 14 | Poplar Point Beach | Enter Poplar Point Campground, continue straight until you reach the beach. | Dustin Bigford |
| 15 | Bells Church Access | Park at the turnaround and walk down to the Fishing Pier. | |
| 17 | Vista Point | At the boat ramp. | |
| 19 | Jordan Lake Dam (Parking). | Over the dam. | Doc Ellen |
| 20 | New Hope Boat Ramp (Parking). | At the boat ramp. | Emily Davies |
Dustin Bigford
Park Ranger II
Jordan Lake State Recreation Area
[email protected]
Jin Bai
Community Science Committee Chair
New Hope Bird Alliance
[email protected]