Sunny, calm and 34
degrees
It’s a clear crisp Christmas
Eve day as I head over to the Peekskill area to see if there are any signs of
the influx of eagles which will no doubt occur in the next few weeks. We’ve had some chilly days in this past
week and that is a good trend needed to bring our visitors from the north into
the valley.
Near the Annsville Paddle
Center on the Hudson, I did not find any birds at all! I was surprised because the early
morning sun was brilliant and I figured there would be some warming effects
which the little brown jobs would want to take advantage of. Even the gulls and geese were absent. Around the back side of the of the
point on which the center lies, however, I did find a promising sign of
possible things to come…..ice. Not
a lot, but the small bay I was standing along was covered with a thin coat and
that’s what we need for the eagles to come in. Once the bodies of water to our north our frozen over, the
eagles must come down to this part of the river where boat traffic and the
topography keep at least part of the river ice-free. That means that the birds can get to the fish which is a
major staple of their diets.
We do have resident eagles in
the valley as well, and it so happened that I knew of a place nearby where
there had been an active eagles’ nest in the past. Off I went and in short order I had found the nest. To my great joy, there was the nest and
there was a mature Bald eagle upon it.
As I watched and photographed the bird adjusting the twigs within the
nest, a second bird flew in and took its place alongside the second bird.
This nest has been productive
in the past and we can only hope that these two birds will have a successful
year and produce more “resident” Hudson Valley Bald eagles. What a nice early Christmas present!
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