How big do eagles get? What do they eat? Kisatchie rangers have the answers

Visitors on the free eagle tours hosted by the Kisatchie National Forest rangers were eager to catch a glimpse of Trey, the fledgling of two of the forest's most popular residents, Louis and Anna, and the youngest sibling of Kincaid and Kisatchie. The rangers set up scopes at the eagle viewing area in the Kincaid Recreation Area where visitors could view the nest - and eagles if they were lucky.

Louis and Anna are not only famous in Louisiana but have a worldwide following. People in India, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Brazil, Japan the Middle East and Italy keep up the pair and their offspring on the Kisatchie Forest E-1 Nest Cam, said wildlife biologist Steve Shively. He and wildlife technician Cody Austell were providing information about the eagles to visitors.

How many eagles are there in Central Louisiana?

It’s unknown how many there are, said Shively. But people who have visited other area lakes have told him they have seen nests. Someone told him they saw at least one eagle’s nest at Cotile Lake. Shively said there is at least one at Indian Creek. And there is the one at Forts Randolph & Buhlow State Historic Site in Pineville which is close to Buhlow Lake and the Red River.

If there is a large body of water such as Buhlow Lake or the Red River, it’s a good bet that there will be a pair of eagles, said Shively. Eagles build nests close to water.

Most eagles can be found in the lower southeastern parts of Louisiana, he said. Over the years they have been branching out and spreading up into the northern part of the state.

In the mid-1970s, he said there were 4 or 5 eagle nests known in Louisiana.

“They have just really taken off. They were an endangered species for many years,” he said. In 2007, they were taken off the endangered species list.

How many eagles are at Kincaid Lake?

Shively said they know of two pairs. There’s Louis and Anna with their newest chick Trey and another pair, Alex and Andria, who have two chicks. Those are about ready to fly away, he said, but it will be a little while longer before Trey does.

How big do eagles get?

“Their wing span is 6-7 feet across and they stand about 3 feet tall,” said Shively. When they hatch, they are a little bigger than a chick that can fit in the palm of your hand.

Eagles lay two eggs a season, said Stacy Blomquist, public affairs specialist with the Kisatchie National Forest. Each egg weighs about 110-130 grams and is 6-8 cm long and 5-6 cm wide. The incubation period is between 34-36 days.

Breeding season is usually from November to December in the South, said Blomquist.

"Our eagles have laid their eggs in December and January," she said.

What do they eat?

“Any kind of fish. Turtles. Waterfowl – ducks, coots, egrets. We’ve seen this pair bring egrets into the nest,” he said.

Shively said the previous pair of eagles which used the nest Louis and Anna are in was seen bringing a collared cat into the nest.

“I didn’t see that but later, rummaging around on the ground underneath the nest I found the jawbone of a cat,” said Shively.

Another eagle pair around Shreveport was feeding off roadkill. They were seen on the eagle cam bringing armadillos to the nest.

“It was kind of a strange nest because it was pretty far from water. It was in a pasture,” he said.

How big are the nests?

Nests can be about 6 to 8 feet across at the top, said Shively. But the eagles add more sticks every year so it builds up.

“That one is probably 4-5 feet from the top of the nest down to the lower parts of where the sticks start,” said Shively of Louis and Anna’s nest. “They can support a person standing on it - at least once they’ve had it for a few years. The first year they make one, it’s probably not built up enough to where it would do that.”

Each eagle pair has a nesting territory and they may have more than one nest. They tend to use the same nest every year, he said. But they can switch nests from one year to another for any number of reasons. A pair of eagles on Oden Lake near Woodworth had three nests. They switched out from one year to the next.

Are Kincaid and Kisatchie, Louis and Anna’s offspring, still around?

“We don’t know. We haven’t banded them,” said Shively.

The eagles around here fly up north during the summer but generally return to this area around September or October.

It’s pretty likely that some of their offspring will take over the abandoned nest and the territory of two eagles that were killed several years ago. But Shively said they wouldn't know which eagles they are.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: How big do eagles get? Kisatchie rangers answer this question and more