The American bald eagle can be spotted—if you’re lucky—in the Highland Lakes during winter nesting season. Adobe Stock image for illustrative purposes
American bald eagles can be seen soaring over the Highland Lakes even before autumn cold fronts chill the sizzling heat of Central Texas summers. Many of these migrating raptors return to Burnet and Llano counties each year around October to nest for the winter, though some have been seen as early as late August.
The eagles, which often travel in mating pairs, prefer the seclusion of Lake Buchanan among the chain of Highland Lakes. They nest along the cliffs of the Colorado River, which flows into Buchanan, feeding off an abundant supply of small mammals and fish.
The noble birds—officially recognized as America’s symbol in December 2024—are a favored attraction in the area, meriting observation decks and river cruises just to catch a glimpse during the half-year they call the Highland Lakes home.
“The eagles like it here because it’s quiet and there’s plenty of food,” Tim Mohan, a tour guide for Vanishing Texas River Cruises, told 101 Fun Things to do in the Highland Lakes in 2020.
From November through March, Vanishing Texas River Cruises offers scenic boat trips up the Colorado River arm of Lake Buchanan. Guests have a good chance of spotting a bald eagle, as well as other migrating birds and native wildlife.
“The eagles are always very good about flying to the boat and around the boat,” Mohan said. “They perch on trees in the cliffs and are easy to spot. Even people with only camera phones have gotten good pictures of them.”
Eagles also prefer Lake Buchanan because of its great expanse. The reservoir is the largest of the Highland Lakes.
“(The eagles) have a huge flyway where they can take off and just soar over 5 miles of lake,” Mohan said.
Lake Buchanan can be choppy, and winters are known for windy conditions on the water. Average wind speed is 16.6 mph, which increases to 20-25 mph in the winter. That might not bode well for boaters, but for raptors, it’s rapture.
Eagles can fly up to 10,000 feet, obtaining their height with a few flaps of their wings. However, once aloft, their long, wide span of wing feathers stretches out to catch hot, rising pockets of air that can keep them airborne for hours without expending much energy.
Although bald eagles are not the fastest of the raptors (falcons are), they can reach speeds of 75-99 mph in a dive. When ready to dive for food, they pull in their wings to reduce wind drag and pick up speed. They tent their wings to protect their catch as they snatch it up.
The raptors make the kill with talons, each of which crushes at about 400 pounds per square-inch. Their strength is such that they can can carry one-third of their body weight. American bald eagles can weigh from 6.6 pounds to 14 pounds and reach up to 32 inches tall with a wingspan measuring 6-7 feet.
Eagle eyes are pretty amazing as well—they even have their own idiom! They are about the same size as human eyes, but, in a much smaller skull, they are a dominating visual feature.
Fixed in their sockets, eagle eyes have two focal points that allow the birds to simultaneously see straight ahead and to the side. Their distance vision is almost unbelievable: They can see small prey more than 3 miles away.
Eagles use their eyes to search for prey, while humans in the Highland Lakes look to the skies, cliffs, and treetops for eagle sightings, which can happen along roadsides, on hikes, or on the observation deck at the Lake Buchanan/Inks Lake Chamber of Commerce, 19611 Texas 20 East, just west of the Inks Lake Bridge. A mating pair was spotted in January 2025 and will probably stick around until mid-April to raise their young. Another bald eagle was spotted on Lake Marble Falls in November 2024 by a kayaker.
To book a Lake Buchanan Cruise, visit the Vanishing Texas River Cruises website.
