Going back to 1983, there were only one or two nesting pair of bald eagles in Utah. By 2005, the count was up to 11.

While it doesn't show rapid growth, admitted Bob Walters, watchable wildlife program coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, "it does show recovery."

This week Walters will lead two tours to see Utah's most permanent pair of nesting eagles. The two have been coming back to the same nesting box since 1996. Over a 12-year period, the pair has produced 30 eaglets. This year there are two young eagles.

They were the first nesting pair of eagles recorded in northern Utah since 1928.

What likely brings them back each year, he said, "is a successful nesting experience. And, as the number of offspring prove, this pair of eagles has experienced very successful nesting."

Walters will conduct two tours out to the nesting site. The first will be today at 6 p.m. and second will be Saturday at 6 p.m. Those interested in viewing the parents and two eaglets need to contact Walters at 801-538-4771. Those registered will meet at the Department of Natural Resources building, 1594 W. North Temple. There is no fee.

Those registered will follow Walters by vehicle to a viewing site. Some spotting scopes will be available.

He believes that a second pair of eagles nesting on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake includes one of the eaglets raised by the original pair.

Eaglets usually start learning to fly around the third week in June, "so there's a good chance those attending the field trips will watch as the eaglets make some of their first flights from their nest and back," he said.

The eaglets are about 11 to 12 weeks old and will probably remain in the nest until mid-July and then leave for other areas.

Once the eaglets leave the nest, no one knows for certain where they'll end up.

It takes between four and five years for the birds to mature and develop the white heads.

Between 60 percent and 70 percent of the hatched bald eagles die in the first year from a number of hazards, including electrocution, starvation, predators, poison baits and poachers.

Utah has become a popular staging area for eagles over the winter. Guesses are that more than a thousand eagles winter in Utah. Come mating time, however, they fly north into Canada and Alaska.

Utah winters are good for eagles because of the comparatively mild temperatures and the abundance of prey, such as carp and ducks from the marshes along the lake, and rabbits.

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