THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

While I was growing up the Bald Eagle, symbol of America, was on the endangered list for extinction. This majestic raptor was once very common throughout the United States, but their numbers steadily dwindled from loss of habitat and competition for food from human westward expansion. By the late 1800’s their numbers were already in sharp decline, but then were further decimated with the use of DDT and other pesticides. This weakened their eggshells which were often crushed during incubation. On the Fourth of July, 1976, our country’s bicentennial anniversary, the Bald Eagle was officially placed on the endangered list by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

For a kid growing up in New Jersey the Bald Eagle was truly just a symbol and not a “sighting”. Unless I visited a zoo, or traveled out west somewhere or got up to Alaska, where most of the Bald Eagle population now resides, I had no hope of seeing one.

That has changed. The Bald Eagle’s numbers have risen since the banning of DDT in 1972 and Federal and State conservation laws protecting the animal and its habitat. Once down to under 500 nesting pairs in the continental U.S. the numbers have risen to over 10,000 nesting pairs. In 1995 the US Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the Bald Eagle’s status to “threatened” and in 2007 removed from the endangered species list. Seeing a Bald Eagle in the area is now plausible. Although not as plentiful as they were before the European invasion of North America, when they may have numbered up to half a million, the Bald Eagle population is coming back. Readers of this blog may remember a trip Team VFH made this past January to the Conowingo Dam in northern Maryland.  Large numbers of Bald Eagles winter there feeding on fish that get sucked through the turbines on this Susquehanna River edifice. But now it is possible to see Bald Eagles and not have to leave New Jersey!

At the northern end of my hometown of Lambertville, NJ there is currently a nesting pair of Bald Eagles. There is at least one eaglet. They have made their aerie on a power line tower near the Route 202 bridge. Walk along the towpath and right where the canal passes over the Alexauken Creek you can see the nest in the tower to the west. Bring a chair and enjoy this wonderful display and sigh with pleasure knowing that few animals ever make it back from the very brink of extinction.

(c) 2014 Deborah Faust

In deference to this nesting pair the 14^th annual Civil War re-enactment weekend at the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum, just north of the power line aerie, will NOT be firing off their cannons. The eaglets will not be disturbed. Please note because of this event there is no free parking usually found in the area beside the 202 bridge. You can still park for free in town and enter the towpath at Elm Street and head north.

HOLCOMBE-JIMISON FARM

If you’re interested in getting something to eat and still want to see the eagles, visit Ed and

Debbie at the Homestead Farm Market. The market is on Main Street in Lambertville. At the Homestead you can buy lunch, fresh produce, drinks, some of the best apple pie on this earth and flowers and then ask if you can look through their telescope aimed right at the nest. It’s free and although supposedly only out Tuesday through Saturday, if you ask Ed in a nice way he’ll set it up for you.

HOMESTEAD FARM MARKET, LAMBERTVILLE, NJ 

If you can’t make it to Lambertville or you need a daily fix of Bald Eagle antics there are several webcams on the internet, most notably, for me, is the Duke Farms Eagle cam. In operation since 2008, 8 million viewers have watched the male and female return every year to the same nest.

 BALD EAGLE CAM AT DUKE FARMS 

For The Birds

Just south of the Pennsylvania border the broad Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Creating electricity from the flow of this river that has its headwaters in Ostego Lake at Cooperstown, New York, is the Conowingo Dam. Route 1 travels over the dam and although the Conowingo is not a proud edifice like the Hoover, it is quite the tourist attraction. Bald Eagles are readily seen fishing the waters beneath the dam, mostly from mid-October through January. It is the greatest gathering of Bald Eagles east of the Mississippi. During the peak viewing times hundreds of these majestic birds can be seen at one visit, although lesser numbers of eagles can still be seen throughout the rest of the year. Several species of gulls, heron and vultures can be readily seen as well, but it is for the Bald Eagles that people visit the Conowingo.

(C) Baltimore Sun

Birders and photographers gather here on a daily basis and there is quite a culture built up around the Bald Eagles. A google search of the Conowingo Dam reveals how popular (and free) this destination is to curious onlookers as well as professional-looking photographers. There is even a Facebook page devoted to the Conowingo Bald Eagles. Don’t fret! Although your lens may not be as big as those who gather to snap action shots of this symbol of America, you must not feel inadequate. The Conowingo is worth visiting even if you are just hauling out an instamatic.

VISITORS GUIDE TO THE BALD EAGLES AT CONOWINGO DAM

ANOTHER BALD EAGLE LINK

HANFORD BIRD CLUB

When the Conowingo releases water to generate electricity with their turbines fish get trapped in the mechanisms above the dam and get sluiced through to the other side, often dazed and disoriented. Red caution lights alert the birds the turbines are opening and the fantastic display of nature begins. This is the prime time to view the birds as they are the most active. It is possible to time your visit with the release of water by calling the Conowingo Dam “hot-line” at: 888-457-4076.

 

Conowingo Dam, looking south

There are two places to watch, either down near the water at Fisherman’s Park or along the fence line across from the island and the twin power towers, although you can also sit in your car and catch glimpses. Be sure to back into the spot. Be sure too to dress warmly and to take food for the invariably long wait. There are picnic tables and portable toilets, but nothing else, so arrive prepared. The entrance to the viewing area is on the south side of the river. The street off Route 1 is Shuresville Road then a left onto Shuresville Landing Road.

I missed the release of water that day when I recently visited the dam. The edifice itself was impressive and gulls swirled in the air and vultures perched on the dam itself, but I did not see a Bald Eagle. Just a few photographers remained and they were talking among themselves about their craft. They snickered at me when I hoisted my flip phone to snap a picture, but I ignored them. It was a mild day and I walked the grounds and read about the fish elevators that bring spawning fish upstream and about the tours that the Conowingo Dam authority had recently started up again after 12 years and the efforts to renew the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for the 85 year old hydro-electric plant, which will expire on September 1, 2014.

On the way to the Conowingo Dam I stopped for snacks at the Herr’s Factory tour and outlet. It’s just a few miles north of the Mason-Dixon Line in Nottingham, Pennsylvania and directly off the highway. I didn't time the tour well either and did not wait for the next one. Instead I stocked up on supplies and snacked on some chocolate covered pretzel sticks as I visited the Conowingo. The Herr's store is open Monday through Thursday 9 a to 3 p and Fridays for two hours, 9 a to 11 a.