Wintering Bald Eagles on the Hudson in Westchester County, NY
by Bob Rancan

Monday, January 19, 2026

Martin Luther King Day, 2026 marked my 12th Club trip up the Hudson River to look for wintering Bald Eagles since 2009. There are many more resident birds in the Hudson Valley than when I first started going up there but colder weather and ice up north bring more winter visitors as they look for open water.

As for the HRCKC trips, we’ve had as many as 22 participants (2014) and as few as 3 (2020). The number of eagles spotted seems to vary with the severity of the winter – with 41 in 2011, 56 in 2014 and 7 & 6 in 2016 and 2020, respectively. So, even though the trend seems to be that there are fewer members willing to brave the waterfront winds, the eagles still show up. Nine folks spotted 35 eagles in 2022 and 7 of us saw 39 this Monday. We started slowly at the mouth of the Croton River with 5 birds, had another 4 at Croton Point Park, only 5 at George’s Island. But things picked up at Verplanck as the afternoon wore on as several eagles flew around the King’s Ferry and others were seen across the river at the Stony Point lighthouse. The highlight of the day happened at Charles Point, Fleischmann’s Pier in Peekskill. There was a little ice inshore and many birds flying back and forth as the afternoon moved towards the 4 o’clock hour: all told, at least 18 eagles were spotted…several pairs flying together and several juveniles, on the ice or flying with the Bear Mountain Bridge as backdrop. The star of the day was a mature eagle that landed and perched in a tree right at the entrance to the parking lot by the Pier and just stayed there, probably observing all of the photographers and cell-phone users who walked up for a photo-op.

Thanks to Mike C, Jim P, Alex T, Janet R, and Anita and Bob B.

Click here for wonderful photos by Bob Bozzo.

Bob