I had heard the faint tapping on the back deck handrail when my wife Chris walked into my office and said, “You’d better be putting out more suet blocks and sunflower seeds or they will be tearing things up again!”

Yes… there is nothing worse (or funnier at times) than being held captive by a bunch of woodpeckers. It first started a few years back when the suet cakes ran out and a downy woodpecker decided to announce the fact by drumming on the fiberglass roof sheeting on the screened-in back porch. The bird’s loud and annoying “RAT-A-TAT-TAT” on the sheet fiberglass was quickly silenced once suet was available again.

Later it got more serious as “Woodrow” our resident Pileated Woodpecker got into the act. When “Woodie” a crow-sized woodpecker starts hammering away, big splinters of wood start flying! Woodie almost destroyed my wife’s garden bench in a single fit of suetless rage. Last time we ran short on suet, the bird knocked a fist sized hole in the top railing of the deck in a matter of a few minutes.

Never mind the entire back deck is constructed of treated wood and has zero insects or grubs for the woodpeckers. They hammer away on the barren wood or the fiberglass roof sheets knowing the racket will bring me out to fill the feeders.

Who says our feathered friends are “bird brains?”  Looks like my feathered “fiends” at the feeder have me pretty well trained.

Bald eagle recovery big conservation win

The Natural Resources Commission recently removed the bald eagle from Indiana’s list of state endangered and special concern species due to evidence of our successful eagle recovery.

The recovery of the bald eagle is one of the greatest conservation success stories in Indiana. Habitat loss, the hat-making trade, and persecution once caused dramatic declines in eagle numbers, leading to the last eagle nest being found in Indiana in 1897. Nationwide, bald eagle populations continued to decline throughout the 1950s and 60s because pesticides like DDT interfered with their ability to reproduce.

With public and private action, a combination of legislative changes and conservation efforts put bald eagles on the road to recovery. The U.S. Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940 to prevent the killing of bald eagles. DDT was banned nationwide in 1972. In 1973, bald eagles were one of the first species listed as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act. State agencies began restoration efforts to meet conservation goals for eagles as a result of this listing.

Indiana’s DNR reintroduced bald eagles to the state from 1985–1989. Seventy three eaglets from Wisconsin and Alaska were raised and released at Monroe Lake to restore a breeding population in Indiana. The first successful nesting occurred in 1991.

By 2007, the U.S. national symbol was declared recovered and removed from the federal endangered species list. Indiana followed suit in 2008, upgrading the bald eagle from a state-endangered species to a species of special concern after reaching a goal of 50 nesting pairs. It was a significant achievement – no eagles were known to have nested in the state for almost 90 years.

In just 35 years, the bald eagle went from totally absent in Indiana to a thriving population statewide. This year, biologists estimated Indiana supported about 300 nesting pairs across 84 counties. In the last five years, at least one bald eagle nest has been documented in 88 of Indiana’s 92 counties. Chick production was also up by 11 percent from 2019 to 2020.

The bald eagle reintroduction program was the first endangered species restoration project in Indiana. The project and ongoing research would not be possible without donations to the Indiana Nongame Wildlife Fund, the main funding source of all nongame and endangered species research and management. You can donate to the fund online at on.IN.gov/nongamewildlifefund.

Although bald eagles are no longer listed as an endangered species, they remain protected by other state and federal laws, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. If you see bald eagles in Indiana, observe the birds, their nests, and roosts from a distance of at least 330 feet; roughly the length of a football field. Photography enthusiasts should take photos of eagles with a telephoto lens instead of trying to get close to them. Everyone should foster a climate of respect for wildlife by sharing the guidelines with friends.

Turkey Run Eagles in Flight weekend

Turkey Run State Park is hosting its Eagles in Flight weekend Jan. 29-31. Programs will let participants see songbirds, a hawk and a bald eagle up close. Attendees will also be able to see wild eagles at their roost and nest sites. Face coverings are required for all indoor and outdoor programs.

Advance registration is required and can be completed at eventbrite.com/e/2021-eagles-in-flight-weekend-tickets-130037127549.

In conjunction with the weekend, the Friends of Turkey Run and Shades State Parks are hosting an online silent auction Jan. 20-30. All of the proceeds go toward Turkey Run and Shades projects. View the items at 32auctions.com/EaglesInFlight21. Auction winners will be able to pick up their items.

Overnight lodging is available at the Turkey Run Inn. Contact the Reservation Center at 877-LODGES1 or IndianaInns.com, and reference Group Code 0129EF.

Standard park entrance fees of $7 per in-state vehicle and $9 per out-of-state vehicle may apply.  Turkey Run State Park (on.IN.gov/turkeyrunsp) is at 8121 East Park Rd. Marshall, 47859.

Firewood permits at Tippecanoe River SP

The public is invited to cut up and remove certain downed trees at Tippecanoe River State Park.  Trees eligible for firewood have fallen as a result of natural causes or have been dropped by property staff. They are along roadsides or in public areas such as campsites and picnic areas.

Permit sales and cutting both begin on Jan. 4 and end Feb. 26, 2021.

The cost of one pickup-truck load is $10. All proceeds will be used for resource management and restoration efforts, including replacement of trees in campgrounds and other public areas.

A firewood permit must be obtained at the park’s office, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Permits are not available on observed state holidays.

Wood may be cut and removed from 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. For more information, call 574-946-3213. Firewood cut at Tippecanoe River State Park is for personal use only and may not be sold. Tippecanoe River State Park (on.IN.gov/tippecanoeriversp) is at 4200 N. U.S. 35, Winamac, IN 46996.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net. Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are now available from Amazon.com.