Bald Eagles

Soar Over Zoar

 

By Kendra Bobowick

Odd sounds and a winter’s view through bare trees recently held a surprise for Sandy Hook resident Kevin Keller.

 “I heard squealing noises,” he said, remembering his walk in the backyard around 10 am on December 30. Glimpsing an open view of Lake Zoar below, he saw a cluster of bald eagles, drawn to the sounds they make. On the water’s icy surface were several large birds of prey.

“I ran inside to get my camera,” said Mr Keller, who used a zoom lens and monopod to steady his Nikon while he captured images of one eagle in flight, and others jostling their positions on the frozen patch of lake. Viewing seven or eight total, he said, some were adults with white feathered heads, and other birds were younger.

While the eagles have become a common early winter sight at the Shepaug Dam in Southbury, which boasts an eagle observatory (visit ShepaugEagles.com) and a familiar sight near Monroe’s Stevenson Dam, Mr Keller had never seen them “right here in front of us.”

Although his yard overlooks an area of Lake Zoar within sight of the Stevenson Dam, and is a short walk toward the town-owned Eichler’s Cove Marina, he was surprised to see the eagles fly “right over the beach.”

For roughly an hour that morning, he watched the birds feed, play, or scare one another away from food. While a few flew above the cove, others stayed near the center of the lake, he said.

Since December 30, he has not seen the eagles. On Monday, January 3, he said, he was still watching for them. The lake was eagle-free, however. He attributes his luck in late December to good timing.

Gary Smolen, head of the Shepaug Dam Eagle Observation Area, confirmed that the number of nesting pairs of eagles in this state has increased. Pesticides and chemicals in the environment had played a significant role in the bird’s population decline. Naming one symptom of pesticides in particular, he said one chemical had caused the egg shells to thin.

“They would crush when the adults sat on them,” he said. The birds were also in conflict with people regarding living space.

“[An eagle’s] prime real estate is land that’s remote, along the water’s edge, and people’s prime real estate is also along the water’s edge.” A “primary issue going forward,” he said, is going to be nesting locations.

Eagle Observatory Open For Season

The Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Observation Area opened for the season on December 26 and will remain open through March 16. Located in Southbury, the area is within the Shepaug Housatonic Hydroelectric Station on River Road. From Sandy Hook, follow Glen Road just over the “silver bridge” that also serves as the town line between Newtown and Southbury, and turn left after going over Lake Zoar. Stay on River Road all the way to its conclusion near Mitchell Farm (watch for the large satellite dishes, and continue toward them; signs are posted for the Eagle Observation Area).

From I-84 East, use Exit 13 and turn right at the end of the ramp, onto River Road. Follow along the river, and continue straight when you see the “silver bridge” on the left.

The station welcomes guests on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm, by reservation only. Call 800-368-8954, Tuesday through Friday, between 9 am and 3 pm, to schedule a visit.

According to the DEP, wintering eagles come to Connecticut looking for open water in which to feed when the land and waters in Maine and Canada are frozen. If harsh weather in Connecticut causes any open water to freeze over as well, the eagles continue to migrate farther south.

Up to 100 eagles winter in Connecticut, from December to early March, along major rivers and at large reservoirs. The number of wintering eagles has been increasing slowly, depending on the severity of each winter. With the increase in nesting and wintering eagles in Connecticut, there is still a challenge to reconcile human recreation and shoreline development, which decrease suitable habitat, with the specific needs of this state threatened species.

Also according to a DEP fact sheet, the bald eagle is best known as the country’s national emblem, chosen for this honor in 1782. The bald eagle went from being common in the early 1700s to extremely rare in the lower 48 states by the 1960s due to loss of habitat and nesting trees, food contamination by pesticides, and illegal shooting. The bird was declared endangered in 1973, and then reclassified as threatened in 1995, after the population began to climb. By 2007 the population had recovered enough to remove the species from the endangered list. The bird is still protected under several federal acts.

By the 1950s in Connecticut, bald eagles had ceased to be nesting birds until more than 30 years later when one pair raised its young in Litchfield County. Since then nesting birds in nearly all of the state’s counties have been documented. The eagle is still considered threatened in Connecticut.