Eagle Tree
Eagle Tree
We heard about a tree near Wendell, Idaho where Bald Eagles gather to roost each night. So we drove up to Wendell to see for ourselves. The spot actually mark on Google Maps as “Eagle Tree” so it was easy to find. We got there Saturday evening and sure enough there were bald eagles gathered in a tree. It was really fascinating to see so many roosting in the same tree. There were plenty of other trees for them spread out (and there were a few in the other trees) but the majority of them were together.
Box Canyon State Park
Just down the road form the eagle tree was Box Canyon State Park, Its a small canyon that cuts through the desert from an underground spring. The spring is part of the Thousands Springs Aquifer that flows into the Snake River Canyon. Since it was still winter, the water flow was very minimal so we didn’t hike down into the canyon. Some people we met showed us pictures of the waterfall that drops down to the Snake River canyon floor. Later the is spring we will try to return and hike down to waterfall.
Ritter Island State Park
We also found another state park by following the road signs. Ritter state park in down in the Snake River and is formed by a branch of the Snake River. The actual park on the island was closed but we found a trail leading to another waterfall that spilled over the canyon rim into the Snake River. This waterfall is also spring fed so even though it was winter there was still lush green vegetation under the falling water.
On the Road down to Ritter State park, we found this area where the water just flowed from the cliff walls creating a really unique sight.
Clear Springs Trout Farm
We stopped by the Clear Springs Trout Farm visitor center where they have an outdoor fish pond with several trout and three sturgeons. In the past there were two very large sturgeon. One was about 12 feet long and the other was about 15 feet long. It was a little disappointing to see the big are not there anymore but still fun to see these unique fish. They also have an underwater window to watch from but is was late in the day and the sun was setting so the so we didn’t stay very long.
Return to Eagle Tree
As it was nearing sunset, we drove back to eagle tree to get the eagle tree back light by the setting sun. There were several more eagles in the tree now and it was still amazing to see so many gathered in one spot. Even as we watched there was even more eagles flying in for the night. From the image above there are about 45 bald eagles in this tree with about 24 or so roosting in other trees.
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