Winter Bald Eagle Survey

Each January the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) and Prescott National Forest (PNF) conduct a midwinter Bald Eagle survey at the four lakes in the Prescott area. Prescott Audubon volunteers assist with this effort by surveying at Willow, Watson, and Goldwater Lakes while a PNF team covers Lynx Lake.

Overall fewer eagles were detected in 2024 and 2025 than in some recent years. In 2025 surveyors at the four lakes counted ten Bald Eagles, five adults and five immatures. Three immature eagles perched and flew around at Goldwater Lake before flying north. One of the pair of adults observed at Lynx Lake carried nesting material to the nest. This pair includes a new female replacing the adult female found dead at Lynx Lake last year. The Watson Lake team saw two immature eagles and three adults. Some of these individuals were also seen at Willow Lake.

Late in 2023 an adult Bald Eagle was observed carrying nesting material into the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. During the 2024 survey, the volunteers saw two adult eagles, but saw no nesting activity. In the months following the survey, various observers noticed an eagle pair at a partially-constructed nest in the woods at the north end of the Preserve. This was the first known nesting attempt by Bald Eagles in the Preserve. The City of Prescott placed signs to inform park users about the nest and to encourage them to avoid the area, stressing that disturbance might cause the eagles to abandon the nest. The pair ultimately did not nest there in 2024, but a raptor management specialist with AGFD explained that the pair might be practicing and could nest in 2025. The City’s signs are already in place for 2025. For more information about participation in the eagle survey in 2026, please send a note to [email protected].