Bald Eagle Field Trip
by Bob Rancan
Saturday, February 1, 2014
It has been a cold winter, lots of snow and ice. But when the lower Hudson has ice, it means up north things are frozen over. It also means it's a good winter for spotting bald eagles. On February 1, twenty two Club members and guests headed across the Tappan Zee and to the north hoping for a good day. We got beautiful weather, pretty warm and no wind. Standing around for four plus hours was quite bearable. There was lots of ice in the river, at the mouth of the Croton and at all the other stops. There were eagles everywhere...about 56 in all, soaring, perched, flying overhead and riding small ice chunks. An early sighting on the Croton River near the Rt. 9 Bridge had an adult feeding on a fish and two others quickly joining in on the small flow hoping to steal a meal. We did not spot many ducks but there were three ruddy ducks at Croton and individual buffleheads everywhere. A pair of red tails perched behind the Croton Pt. Park Office were another highlight.
Every part of the day worked like magic. And we didn't really just stand around: we fulfilled the active lifestyle mandate of the HRCKC by actually "hiking" a bit around Croton Point Park and walking out to the end of Fleischmann's (China) Pier. Then 15 hungry souls enjoyed a late lunch at the Harbor at Charles Point. Thanks as always to my friends Alec and Hilary from the PNA for bringing the spotting scope and to Lori B. and Janet Rancan for the photos.
Bob