One Tank Trips

• Feb 1, 2008 5:15 pm US/Pacific
• Digg | Facebook | E-mail

  Close WindowE-mail This Page

  One Tank Trip: Bald Eagle Trail

  Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

  ---

  • Recipient E-mail:* 
  • • Your Name:* 
    • Your E-mail:* 
  • Add a Message:
  •   Send me a copy of this e-mail.

  • Type the characters in this picture:* Click here to refresh with new letters

  ---

  The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

  Send E-mail

  | Print

One Tank Trip: Bald Eagle Trail

Reporting
John Iander

If the weather is nice and the skies are clear, head to Lake County.  There's a nature trail that will take you deep into bald eagle country.

Man has been here for who knows how many thousands of years. Here along the two forks of Cache Creek in Lake County.  Leading this public hike is zoologist and historian Larry Ames.  He shows us how Native Americans lived and hunted here, how they scooped out this depression in the earth to build lean to shelters.

"So when you see them, you know it is an archeological site and archeological sites are protected by law."

Look and take pictures but do not disturb any artifacts.  The trail takes you into the newly established 27 thousand acre federal wildlife reserve overseen by the bureau of land management.

The trail is about six miles long and leads you past spectacular views. Even in winter you'll see gorgeous wooded areas and grasslands. More than 150species of birds live here but what we are searching for today are bald eagles.  A nesting pair lives in this canyon and other bald and golden eagles visit. 

We climb to the highest part of the trail along this ridge at thirty two hundred feet and settle in to watch.  Now one of the best places to watch for the bald eagles is along cash creek.  This is where they are coming for fish.

Suddenly, there is dot in the sky and Larry confirms it's a young bald eagle.

"He's probably fishing the north fork.  You can sure see his white head, even I can see that."  

We clearly saw that white feathering on the head and the bald eagles don't get that feathering until about four years old.  With man's help banning pesticides, the bald eagles have come back from near extinction and are no longer on the endangered species list.  For hikers like Marion Franck, this was five hours of discovery.

"It was great.  You did see a bald eagle.  I did see a bald eagle, but I would have loved it anyway.

These guided hikes are unfortunately all full for the year, but this trail is open all winter for the public to watch the skies for America's national bird.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)