Volunteer Bald Eagle Nest Monitors Needed in Northeast Iowa

The Iowa DNR is looking for volunteers to help monitor bald eagle nests in several northeast Iowa counties.

Program coordinator Stephanie Shepherd said, “With more than 1000 wildlife species in the state, we just don’t have enough staff in the DNR to adequately monitor all the vulnerable species that need attention. This is where community scientists play a crucial role.”

Community science volunteers have been helping to monitor Iowa’s eagle population since 2006. Iowa has over 500 active bald eagle nests across the state, plus many more that have an unknown status. In 2022, volunteer nest monitors collected data on roughly 290 of these nests.

The DNR is looking for more volunteers to monitor bald eagle nests in 14 counties across the state, including Allamakee, Chicaksaw, Clayton, Delaware, Howard, and Winneshiek.

To be a bald eagle nest monitor you will need a pair of binoculars and preferably a spotting scope. The time commitment for conducting the survey and submitting data is roughly six hours total between March and July each year and will require multiple visits to a nest.

Each monitor training workshop will be limited to 25 households and a $5.00 tuition + fees is required. Registration will close on February 15th at 5 pm or whenever the 25 household per workshop limit has been reached. 

Have questions? The VWMP webpage may help answer them or you can direct questions to Stephanie Shepherd at vwmp@dnr.iowa.gov.