BEAVER LAKE (KFSM) - Around 15 people took advantage of the eagle boat tour put on by Hobbs State Park Sunday (Jan. 3). Guides said around 300 eagles spend their winters in Northwest Arkansas.
"There's 550 miles of shore line, and we're only going to cover a small portion of it today, and this is where eagles predominately come in, and hopefully they'll be done with their daily feeding and be sitting in the trees," Volunteer Tom Brewster said.
The lucky people on the tour today saw 6-7 eagles--all were mature. Brewster said there are a few permanent residents of the lake. He said there are several nests in the area.
"They have raised young in the last several years, and those birds will come back to the lake," Brewster said.
He said now is the ideal time to see eagles, because their mating season is coming up. Brewster said the season starts at the end of January and goes through February.
"They come down from up north and the lakes freeze over up there so they can fish, because Beaver Lake never freezes, it sometimes gets ice back in the coves, but the lake itself never freezes," Brewster said.
Casey and Lora Moser were part of the tour group Sunday. The couple is visiting Northwest Arkansas from Fort Worth, Texas, and said they doesn't have bald eagles at home.
"I've never been on an eagle tour, it was really impressive, saw lots of eagles, roosting and flying around, it was beautiful," Lora said.
They said the experience was definitely worth being a little chilly. The guides said the eagles are most active on cold and rainy days.
"The scenery, the experience altogether, that's not something you're going to see, and that's not something you're going to get for $10 anywhere else," Lora said.
The tours go through the end of January. Organizers said the tickets must be purchased in advance. They cost $10 for adults and $5 for kids. For more information, click here.