Winter is the time to see eagles

Written by Jack Sanders
Friday, 13 January 2012 11:48

Michael and Sandra Juliano of Ridgefield photographed this Bald Eagle outside their home.Michael and Sandra Juliano have had an exciting fall and early winter, with at least four sightings of a Bald Eagle near their home on Lake Mamanasco in Ridgefield.

“Our feathered friend came back to visit us today,” they wrote on Jan. 2. “He likes the tree directly in front of our house on Mamanasco Road.

“We are simply amazed each time we see him (her?). This is the fourth time we have seen him this season.

“Do you think he/she is nesting here or simply passing through?”

The number of Bald Eagles in our area has been steadily increasing in the years since the federal DDT ban. As many readers remember, DDT in the environment wound up in many raptors, and led to eggs that failed because their shells became too thin.

Normally, Bald Eagles go north for the summer to nest and spend the winter on open waters in our area and southward. However, with increasing populations and more forested land along waterways, the number of Bald Eagles nesting in Connecticut and southern New York has been gradually rising, so we have some year-round eagles, too.

Winter remains the best time to see them around here. An especially good place has been the Hudson River at such locations as Croton Point Park (see ‘Coming Up’ below) and up near Cold Spring. Our friend, Kevin Doyle, photographed dozens of them last winter on the Hudson.

They also hang out at the Shepaug Dam on the Housatonic River in Newtown/Southbury. The power company that owns the dam (it used to be CL&P) has an eagle observation center there. The lower Connecticut River has so many eagles, Connecticut Audubon offers boat trips to see them in February and March (‘Coming Up’).

The reason the eagles can be found at Shepaug and on the Hudson is the same reason the Julianos are seeing them at Mamanasco. Although eagles can catch rabbits and other small mammals if they are in the open, and will eat carrion when desperate, they get most of their food from fishing. To fish, they need open water. The Hudson is open because of its swift currents and its tides, and the Housatonic just below the dam is open because the churning below the dam keeps the ice from covering the water. And Mamanasco, a mile-long lake, has not yet frozen over because of the incredibly un-winter-like weather.

Once Mamanasco is covered with ice, the eagles will be concentrated over on the Hudson or perhaps along some of the Westchester-Putnam reservoirs, if the winter remains fairly mild and these bigger bodies of water don’t become completely ice-covered.

More eagles

Perhaps more unusual is Jeanne Cook’s report of seeing Golden Eagles in Ridgefield this fall — not even near a lake or river.

Jeanne has a great location to view birds making use of the winds. She lives on a ridge more than 800 feet above sea level from which she can see far beyond the Hudson, which is 20 miles to the west.

“Have three Golden Eagles enjoying the winds over ridge and open space,” Jeanne reported in December.

A worker at her house took a picture of one of the eagles “drying his wings on the back lawn,” she said. Perhaps he will share it with us.

Golden Eagles are much less common than Bald Eagles. Very few if any are being reported in the area this winter.

Coming up

Introduction to Backyard Birding with Dick Worth, adult and family program for children 10 and up Saturday, Jan. 14, 10 to 11 a.m., Connecticut Audubon Center, at 325 Burr Street, Fairfield, 203-259-6305, ctaudubon.org.

Lifestyles of the Birds of Winter, family-friendly class about how birds like chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers survive in winter, Saturday, Jan. 14, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, RSVP 203-869-5272 x230.

Montauk Birding Overnight, Sunday, Jan. 15, evening to Monday, Jan. 16, evening, Saw Mill River Audubon, 914-666-6503, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , sawmillriveraudubon.org.

eBird Workshop, basic tools and features of the eBird program with Bedford Audubon Naturalist Adam Zorn, Thursday, Jan, 19, 7 to 9 pm, Bylane Farm, 35 Todd Road, Katonah; register at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 914-519-7801; bedfordaudubon.org.

Bald Eagle Survey at the New Croton Dam and Visit to Black Rock Park, Croton-on-Hudson with Naturalist Tait Johansson, Sunday, Jan. 22, 3 to 5 p.m. from Bylane Farm, 35 Todd Road, Katonah at 2:30 p.m., register at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 914-519-7801. bedfordaudubon.org.

Hudson River EagleFest, celebrate the Bald Eagle on the Hudson River, Saturday, Feb. 4 (snow date: Feb 5), 9 to 4, free, Croton Point County Park, Croton on Hudson, N.Y., www.teatown.org/eaglefest

First Sunday Bird Walks at Greenwich Point (Tod’s Point ), Feb. 5, March 4, 9 to 11 a.m., spotting scopes available, free, sponsored by Wild Wings, Bruce Museum and Audubon Greenwich, for info, Meredith Sampson, 203-637-9822.

Cape Ann Birding Weekend, Feb. 18 to 20, Saw Mill River Audubon, (914) 666-6503 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Training session for Great Backyard Bird, Saturday, Feb. 18, 1 to 2:30, Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, RSVP 203-869-5272 x230.

Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 17-20, www.birdsource.org.

Eagle Viewing Trips, on Connecticut River, Feb. 11 through March 18, 9, 11:30 and 2 on weekends, and 10 and 1 on Thursdays, $40, Connecticut Audubon, 1-800-996-8747

Cuba bird study, trip with Connecticut Audubon, survey work involved, March 3-15, 860-767-0660.

Copyright 2012 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] gmail.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.