Meadow Soprano

Bald Eagles successfully nest in NYC in over 100 years. This is the female, who Im calling Meadow Soprano, and also the largest eagle I've ever seen. Easy 7 feet wingspan...if you dont believe me, head over to Mt. Loretto! Apparently there is a second smaller eaglet too.

Manasquan Reservoir

Havent been to this location since the summer and thankfully the water levels are back to normal. Also back to normal are the resident bald eagles who seem to be working on one of their old nests. I had 7 bald eagles on the day including a group of 3 juveniles bathing.

Brick Eagles

Now that I've spent time outside of the City for a couple of years, its clear that much of what I learned from watching hawks and falcons also applies to other raptors such as eagles and owls. One difference though is that the eagles and owls nest much earlier...about 6 weeks by my count. So while hawk watchers await the hatch of another round of urban raptors, here we await the fledges. I caught up with the venerable pair of Bald Eagles atop a cell tower in Brick, NJ. Standing guard much like their city cousins, they also presented fresh fish and tried to lure the youngsters out. It'll be great fun watching these guys over the next weeks!

Harlem Piers: Bald Eagles and Northern Gannets

Some interesting birds have been around lately. Not sure if its Sandy related, but today along the Hudson River at Harlem Piers I got to see 3 Bald Eagles and about a dozen Northern Gannets. First this juvenile BE flew over. Followed by one adult and its mate! They continued south for some time and I even watched the two adults engage in courting behavior somewhere over Riverside Park in the 80's. From there, I turned my attention to the River, where groups of Northern Gannets were fishing up and down the Jersey side. I think I saw over a dozen in total. Here in this shot I count 8. It was impossible to get close looks, but it was hypnotic watching them coast around and then dive headlong into the River. I wonder what they are catching?

More Harlem Eagles!

Somewhere on this ice flow were 2 eagles. As the ice drifted by, we could see a huge female adult eagle finishing up a fish as another adult and juvenile begged for scraps!

Harlem Eagle

Since the opening of the Harlem Piers I have always appreciated its close views of Hudson River bird traffic, all the while knowing that Bald Eagles sometimes ply these fish rich waters. While last year I had those amazing canvasbacks, no luck with Eagles. So today, as I was about to head into Fairway, I scanned the rough ice and to my surprise, found a bald eagle in almost complete adult plumage. As Murphy and his Godforsaken law would have it, I was without my camera. I ran back to get my camera with surprising adrenaline. The trip back was not as easy...but to my great relief, the Eagle remained.

The gulls gave it a wide birth, but remained on the fringes. After some time, it lit out over the ice, in great broad strokes,

making its way over Riverbank State Park, where it was harassed by crows!


After working still farther north, the resident redtails came in for a few close passes, but it was so far off the pix arent really worth posting. The two hawks did pair up and work their way down past me.

Its the male that was in the CCNY nest and the large female with dark eyes that's always hunting over the Dwyer. Reminder, the 5th Annual Hawk Walk is next Sunday (weather permitting).

PS Here's a great article about Eagles returning to Manhattan!

Croton Point Park

With the Northern wind I've been expecting an Eagle or two to make their way over the City. So far no luck, so instead I ventured up to their stronghold at Croton Point Park. Here's what I found.
From the 125th St. MetroNorth, I spied this kestrel pair.

Upon arrival, it was clear this was Redtail country!

This adult has light eyes like Norman.

And was no less vigorous in defending it!

Bey found the pair perched together.

We saw this adult Bald Eagle making its rounds.


Also seen were this adult Cooper's,

this juvy Sharpie,

this group of Waxwings,

and this raft of Ruddies.

Croton Point Park

After reading reports of ealges and harriers at Croton Point Park, I decided to make the journey north to investigate these sightings. Before I got on the train at Marble Hill, I went to visit the Peregrines on Broadway Bridge. I found them sunning themselves and preening.
The male...


the female.

While the male preened,

the female spotted something and was off.



Then the male was off too.

Pssst...is he still out there?

Yup!

At Croton Point Park,

I immediately spotted two juvy Bald Eagles in some trees. The flew off before I could get close. But then this guy crested over a hill!

He swooped and dove into the long grass!



This norther harrier is a lifer and an amazing bird. I spent at least an hour watching this one effortlessly ride over the hills on the stiff breeze.
Looping around the large hill, I spotted some more eagles out on the ice. This one caught a huge fish!


All in all, I saw about a dozen eagles...about half Adults, half juveniles.


Coming around to the main grassland area, I spotted this guy!

The White Ghost!

Finally, I got a really great look at this juvy!

Looks like he's been banded.

Also saw this lifer...a common Merganser.