The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
In search of the bald eagle on the river
SHORELINE >> Whether you prefer to stay on dry land or board a water vessel for bald eagle watching on the Connecticut River, there are plenty of opportunities to see the largest predator in North America right here on the Shoreline and Valley-Shore.
The colder the weather, the more opportunities to spot the bird, so bundling up is a priority.
“Wear your long johns, layer up, bring a scarf because the best views are going to be outside on the decks,” says Cathy Malin of Connecticut River Expeditions.
Yet Malin says that once you are able to spot the bald eagles, it is all worth the cold trip.
“Being out on the river in the winter is such a great experience,” she says. “It’s a beautiful area. We’re the only ones out there, so you don’t have that summer boat traffic.
“It’s very serene, it’s beautiful,” she adds. “Absolutely beautiful.”
For eagle watching aboard a boat with Connecticut River Expeditions, cruises depart at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4 through March 19.
Cost is $40 per person. For more information visit www.ctriverquest.com or www.ctrivermuseum.org.
If staying on dry land is more to your liking, Jerry Connolly of The Audubon Shop in Madison will lead the watches from a variety of locations on the river. Scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays, Feb. 4, 11, and 25 and March 4, tickets are $25, and include a soup and sandwich lunch at Otter Cove Restaurant in Old Saybrook. Call 203-245-9056 for more information.
Connolly says since he started these trips in 1988 the eagle population has markedly increased.
“When we started it was awful. There weren’t a lot of eagles,” he says. “You could find them with some effort. Now it’s become a little bit easier. The population has come back really strong.”
The increased presence of eagles in Connecticut is a great conservation success story, according to Dennis Schain, spokesman for the DEEP. After the species was considered endangered in the 1950s, the banning of the insecticide DDT in the state in the 1970s has helped the population regrow.
According to Connecticut Wildlife, from 1992 — 2000, there were 1.6 total nesting territories in the state compared to 51 last year. This resulted in an increase from 1.7 chicks to 58, respectively.
While these birds don’t truly migrate, “they’re just kind of following the food source,” says Malin.
“This time of the year, February, early March, the lakes and rivers up north freeze and when they freeze the non-nesting eagles will actually come down south to open water,” explains Malin.
“They’ll come down to the lower part of the Connecticut River to fish. Their favorite food is fish. They will eat almost anything, like they’ll eat carrion, but they like fish, so they need open water for fish.”
Connolly explains that his groups travels, by land, to various locations along the river starting in Haddam and ending in Essex.
He stressed that while the group spots bald eagles, the trips focus more on birding in general.
“It’s not just about the eagles,” says Connolly. “We’re looking at everything and it’s almost a subversive way to interest people in birding in general.
“Every once in while you get a few people who really take to it and say, ‘This could be a lot of fun, a good hobby,’” he says.
The eagles are very busy this time of year building up their nests for the arrival of their chicks.
“Right around now, they’ll start doing what we call nestorations,” says Malin. “They’ll be working on the nest, bringing in nesting materials, fixing it all up and year after year they add to it, so every year it gets bigger and bigger.
“In some cases, they’ll get so big they could be well over 1,000 pounds. The one on Knot Island fell out of a tree last year. I can’t wait to get out there and see.”
Connolly feels the same way. Getting out in nature and enjoying what the Shoreline has to offer and sharing it with others is why he holds these outings.
“From my way of thinking it’s always a good thing to get people interested in being outdoors and learning about nature,” he adds. “It’s kind of a gateway to conservation and environmental thinking.”
For Malin, the bald eagle watches every year are exciting.
“The bald eagle has to be one of the most successful conservation efforts in America, ever,” says Malin.
“If you’ve never seen one before,” she says, “everybody seems to have that same feeling the first time they ever see a live bald eagle in the wild is they’re regal.
“They’re so familiar to everybody. They’re our national icon.”
Connolly echoes this sentiment.
“I still get a real charge out of seeing them,” he says. “It’s just because I’ve been programmed for so long for them to be so rare. They were very much so in the ’70s and ’80s.
“It’s a big success story,” he says.