Eagle-Eye Birding

We scanned the skies. We scoured the water’s edge. And we may have seen two bald eagles fly overhead. But then again, we weren’t sure.

It was a Saturday morning, and my boyfriend, Jordan, and I--both novice birders--had volunteered to count bald eagles for the U.S. Forest Service at Big Bear. And we were having some trouble.

The San Bernardino Mountains support the largest number of wintering bald eagles in Southern California. Even so, their winter numbers have totaled only between 12 and 27 since 1978, when the Forest Service began conducting counts. Every year, volunteers like us are stationed around six mountain lakes for a simultaneous one-hour census once a month from December to March. (Future counts are Feb. 10 and March 10.)

Because volunteers need no experience--just binoculars and warm clothes--we figured we qualified. So earlier this month, we left our West L.A. apartment around noon on Friday to beat the traffic, driving east on Interstate 10, then north on California 30, 330 and 18. Three and a half hours later, with the help of snow chains, we pulled into the town of Big Bear Lake and the Alpenhorn Bed & Breakfast.

The Alpenhorn, opened a year and a half ago by Chuck and Robbie Slemaker, was refined but comfortable. The head housekeeper greeted us and led us inside, where the assistant innkeeper was preparing evening hors d’oeuvres.

In our Rosebay suite upstairs, we were delighted to find a chilled bottle of champagne and a birthday card for me. (When I made the reservation, Chuck asked whether Jordan and I were celebrating a special occasion; I told him about my 30th birthday but said nothing about being a writer.)

The room was cheery, decorated with a mix of Colonial furniture and more modern pieces. Afternoon sunlight spilled through bay windows, which looked out onto neighboring houses and trees blanketed with snow. We turned on the gas fireplace and opened the door to our balcony, which was built around a tall pine. (Each room also has a spa tub big enough for two.)

In the evening we went downstairs, sampled a mellow Cabernet and chatted with Chuck and his guests before leaving for dinner a half-block away at the festive Sonora Cantina.

Jordan and I shared a large green salad and a zesty chicken fajita platter for one, which was more than enough. A short but bone-chilling walk led us back to the inn and an after-dinner drink, and soon we were sound asleep.

Early Saturday, our innkeepers were in the kitchen readying breakfast. We didn’t have much time, so Robbie quickly set a table for us with yogurt, orange juice, homemade granola and sweet, nutty coffee.

We drove about a mile to the Big Bear Discovery Center in Fawnskin, where we checked in for the eagle count. Each team received a map and was assigned a location. During a brief orientation, biologist Marc Stamer explained that immature bald eagles are distinguished by a brown or mottled head and tail; adults have a white head and tail.

He advised us to look for the eagles with our binoculars in the trees and along the shoreline, where they forage for food. And he emphasized the importance of starting our counts promptly at 9 and ending promptly at 10 to remain consistent with simultaneous counts at other locales.

By 8:50 a.m. we had arrived at our observation point: a snowbank at the end of a residential driveway. For 20 minutes we pinned our hopes on a large bird resting by the water. It really didn’t look like an adult bald eagle, which has piercing eyes, yellow curved beak and white feathered head and tail. And it didn’t have the markings of an immature bald eagle, illustrated on our data sheet. From a distance, it looked like a blue heron. That’s because it was a blue heron.

We dutifully observed and noted the movement of a dozen sea gulls, a cadre of mud hens and the lone heron. Finally we saw two large, dark brown birds with white-tipped wings soar above the pines, over the lake and out of view. At 10 we drove back to the Discovery Center to report our findings and turn in our data sheet.

The 51 volunteers at Big Bear that day counted 13 bald eagles--seven adults, six immature ones. When we told Stamer about our sighting, he said white wingtips weren’t typical on bald eagles, but we may have seen 3- or 4-year-olds, which can have white tails. That was good enough for us.

We left to spend the afternoon in Big Bear village, stopping for a light lunch in the Deer Creek Delicatessen on Village Drive. Jordan had half a roast beef sandwich on squaw bread and a tired-looking salad, and I had half a ham sandwich and a cup of tomato bisque.

After perusing shops in town and walking the snowy grounds back at the Alpenhorn, we went to dinner. Chuck had made reservations for us at Madlon’s, a restaurant at the edge of town with an eclectic menu, a strict seating policy (don’t be late, and don’t expect to linger longer than two hours) and a talkative, friendly proprietor of the same name.

We nibbled on tomato, Parmesan and rosemary bread and two appetizers, a platter of sweet, mild onion rings and a roasted elephant garlic dish. The portions were huge, and we couldn’t imagine how we would manage our entrees, which come with soup or salad plus vegetables or potatoes.

My Chicken Carmel combined tender chicken strips and slices of avocado and onions, smothered in Jack cheese and baked in a casserole dish; it was delectable, although a little heavy with butter. Jordan’s baby back pork ribs were succulent if overly sauced.

Sunday morning began with more food at the Alpenhorn. Jordan, still full from the previous day’s meals, barely touched his granola. But I couldn’t pass on Robbie’s spectacular oatmeal bru^lee topped with brown sugar and bananas, her scrumptious strawberry bread and her dense egg strata with salsa and sour cream.

We checked out and drove to the Discovery Center for a 10 a.m. Eagle Explorer Tour. Our guide, Rob Whipple, explained how habitat destruction, poaching and exposure to DDT hurt bald eagle reproduction. By the 1960s, only 500 pairs nested in the U.S. After decades of captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, bald eagle populations rose, and in 1994 the animal’s status improved from “endangered” to “threatened.”

After the lecture and slide show, our small group--mainly parents and children--boarded a van for a two-hour tour. As we traveled around the lake, we stopped frequently to look through a scope.

We saw five bald eagles: One fed on carrion, and two stood on the partly frozen lake. They were breathtaking. George and Gracie, a bald eagle couple well known to locals, were perched majestically on branches overlooking lakefront homes. Whipple told us the pair flies north in the spring, then returns to the same spot in Big Bear every winter. Jordan and I knew we’d be back too.

For video clips from this trip, go to our Internet site at https://www.latimes.com/travel/california.

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Budget for Two

Alpenhorn B&B;, two nights: $369.12

Dinner, Sonora Cantina: 32.00

Lunch, Deer Creek Deli: 14.84

Dinner, Madlon’s: 73.00

Discovery Center Eagle Explorer Tour: 60.00

Snacks: 23.16

Gas: 14.48

FINAL TAB: $586.60

Alpenhorn Bed & Breakfast, 601 Knight Ave. (P.O. Box 2912), Big Bear Lake, CA 92315; tel. (888) 829-6600 or (909) 866-5700, fax (909) 878-3209, Internet https://www.alpenhorn.com. Big Bear Discovery Center, Big Bear Ranger Station, P.O. Box 66, Fawnskin, CA 92333; tel. (909) 866-3437, Ext. 3510 for volunteer eagle-count sign-up or tour reservations.