It's amazing how much bird life there is on Beaver Lake once you go looking for it.
Bald eagles were the focus of a Saturday cruise on the reservoir. Waterfowl were the object of a Monday voyage. On both outings we saw way more than we'd come to see. Each trip proved that fall is a great time to be on the water. Beaver Lake is gorgeous, and it's migration time in the world of birds.
Saturday's trip was the inaugural voyage of the season for Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area eagle-watch cruises on Beaver Lake. Tom Miller and your faithful outdoors reporter were the volunteer guides on Saturday's trip.
This early in the season we hoped our passengers would see at least one bald eagle. We had a full pontoon boat of 20 people so the pressure was on.
The trip got off to a slow start. Nary an eagle was seen as we cruised from Rocky Branch Marina into the Van Winkle Hollow arm of Beaver. We spied a small hawk perched in a tree along a shaded bluff, but no eagles. Even the turkey vultures were no-shows.
Fast as a lightning strike, the trip took a fabulous turn. Tom was our boat driver and he spotted a bald eagle at the water's edge eating a fish. The bird was in a small pocket 75 yards from the boat. All on board got a good look at this eagle through binoculars provided to each passenger.
After another bite of fish, the eagle took off and landed on a snag of timber for another great look.
That was worth the $10 cruise ticket right there, but there was much more. We saw 10 bald eagles on this day we hoped to see one. Adult and juvenile bald eagles soared overhead. Others perched in shoreline trees. Two eagles rested side by side, close together on a branch, like two love birds.
Add to that a flock of mallards, some turkey vultures, black vultures, one kingfisher and a great blue heron,a and a great cruise was had by all.
A boat trip Monday morning was equally exciting. I'd mentioned to bird expert Joe Neal of Fayetteville that there was a cormorant roost on the lake west of Rocky Branch park where 50 or more cormorants hang out in timber over the water. Joe, Joan Reynolds of Rogers and I hopped in my fishing boat to see the roost. We hit the jackpot right away.
When you bird with Joe, they aren't just cormorants. He identified them as double-breasted cormorants. We saw six at the roost, but watched 35 fly over the choppy lake.
Loons are what really made our trip. With binoculars, we got a close look at half-dozen common loons bobbing on waves in a strong south wind. Our prize of the day was when Joan and Joe identified a Pacific loon, a rare bird indeed for Beaver Lake.
The loon caught Joan's eye first. There was something different about its neck plumage. I thought Joe was going to jump overboard with glee at seeing the bird. It's only the second Pacific loon he has seen in years of birding at the reservoir.
Other birds we saw included gadwall ducks, Bonaparte's gulls, a half-dozen bald eagles and some horned grebes.
November is prime time for a boat trip on Beaver Lake, during this fabulous month of migration.
Outdoors on 11/06/2014