Birds and spirits soar at January eagle fests Dale Gerhard / AP An American bald eagle soars over the marshes off North Wildwood Boulevard in the Grassy Sound section of Middle Township, N.J., in November. January is a great time for bald-eagle viewing, and several festivals across the country celebrate the national bird. Looking for a cure for cabin fever, your overtaxed credit-card balance and the other soul-crushing aspects of the post-holiday season? You're in luck. January is a great time to pursue affordable outdoor activities and few things in life will set your spirits soaring higher than the sight of a bald eagle in the wild. "Thirty years ago, it was very rare to see a bald eagle," said Eileen Hanson, spokesperson for the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn. The good news is that everybody now has the chance to see one. The recent history of America's national symbol is well-documented. In 1963, the number of nesting pairs in the Lower 48 hit an all-time low of 417. Declared endangered four years later, the species" prospects gradually improved over the next 40 years. In June 2007, with an estimated 9,789 pairs in existence, the bird was removed from the government's list of endangered and threatened species. And while the federal government no longer conducts annual counts, the numbers are presumably even higher today. "We can safely say that the number of nesting pairs exceeds 10,000 in the Lower 48," said Jody Millar, a supervisor in the Rock Island (Ill.) Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But bald eagles don't mature until they're four or five years old so there are several more year-classes of birds out there. And many are now on the move, migrating south and turning up to star in festivals from the Pacific Northwest to Florida's Space Coast. Here are a few: Quad City Bald Eagle Days Up to 2,500 eagles winter along the Mississippi River and this festival in Rock Island, Ill., is the first (Jan. 6-8) and biggest of the bunch. Activities include live demonstrations with various birds of prey, Audubon-led bus tours to prime viewing spots and shows with live wolves and other exotic animals. Skagit Eagle Festival Kicking off on Jan. 7, this festival in northwest Washington takes place over four consecutive weekends. Float trips and hatchery tours offer unique perspectives on the natural cycles of the Skagit River and its denizens while live music, winery tours and Native American cultural performances showcase the area's land-based lifeforms. Bald Eagle Watching Days Set alongside the Wisconsin River, the adjacent cities of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City will hold its 25th annual eagle festival January 13-14. In addition to live-bird demonstrations, visitors can experience bus tours, a release of captive-raised eaglets into the wild and even wine-tasting/eagle-viewing at nearby Wollersheim Winery. Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival Haliaeetus leucocephalus is not the primary focus of this wide-ranging festival (Jan. 25­-30) but with more than 1,200 nesting pairs in Florida, they're always in attendance. Raptor-centric activities include live-bird demonstrations, guided hikes to areas frequented by eagles and self-guided driving tours along the Black Point Wildlife Drive in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. "The eagles are now nesting so you have a good chance of seeing eaglets," said Lynda White, eagle watch coordinator for Audubon of Florida. It's a great time to go birding.