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Essex 06426
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A CONVOCATION OF EAGLES

By Kathleen M. Mangan

As the boat chugged nearer to the Seven Sisters, a ridge running parallel to a stretch of the Connecticut River, the intrepid winter birders scanned the sky with their binoculars in search of that great symbol of freedom and the U.S. Postal System – the Bald Eagle.

Black specs appeared riding the thermal updrafts along the ridge, and they were quickly identified as Bald Eagles. Then more specs came into view…there was great excitement over the speaker system from Milan Bull whose voice had raised a few octaves…and everyone warming with hot chocolate below deck emptied out onto the breezy top deck with binoculars in hand. People started shrieking in disbelief, counting out loud and comparing numbers.

The birds were fairly close now, and you could watch them soaring in grand, lazy loops and playfully chasing each other. There were so many eagles you couldn’t count them with binoculars because they wouldn’t all fit in your field of view. It was an eagle convocation (official name for a group of eagles). The final count: 16 bald eagles in the air in one place at one time.

“You’ve got to realize how incredible this concentration of eagles is – there are rivers in Alaska during the salmon run where you won’t see this many birds in the air at once,” said Bull. It’s the most he’s ever seen airborne together, and that includes birding all over North America.

This convocation wasn’t the only eagle highlight on the January cruise from Essex to the Goodspeed Opera House in Haddam. We were able to get so close to a roosting eagle that its head filled the binoculars and you could see those intent, focused eyeballs, the point of his sharp curved beak and the wind ruffling the feathers on his neck. We got to watch an immature eagle spread his enormous wings and take flight. And we got a rare look at a flying Golden Eagle that strayed here from out west.

In fact, our final day count of 25 Bald Eagles (18 juvenile, 7 adults), plus one Golden Eagle, was an all-time high eagle count on the Connecticut River, which is quickly becoming the most important winter eagle roosting area along the entire eastern seaboard, according to Bull.

The high count represents a significant comeback for a bird that was virtually non-existent in Connecticut for a number of decades due primarily to use of the pesticide DDT. Bull recalled that his fondest wish as a young birder was to see a real Bald Eagle, but back then, if there was an eagle in Connecticut, it was a closely guarded secret by a select few. He saw his first Bald Eagle at the age of 18 on the Housatonic River near Stratford, and gave it a higher rating on the excitement scale than he did his first date.

With the ban on DDT, federal protection, management efforts and a clean-up of the Connecticut River, eagles started coming back to the state over the past two decades. In addition to the wintering birds, a pair nested in the state for the first time in nearly 50 years in 1992 and they have returned every year since. Two years ago, they were joined by a second pair of nesting eagles. Although they were down-listed from federally endangered to threatened in 1995, they remain on the State’s endangered species list because of the still-low number of nesting pairs. The biggest threat now is loss of eagle habitat due to development.

The river trips by boat are the best way to get good views of Bald Eagles since you can get quite close to the roosting trees along the river edge which are almost entirely on private land. And these enormous, regal birds did not disappoint a single weekly boat excursion this past season with an average of about 13 eagles, which was nearly double the average from the year before. All the groups were treated to good numbers of eagles. It’s one of the great American birding thrills, and it’s right in our own backyard. Spotting Great Cormorants, Red-tailed Hawks, Common Mergansers and a variety of other waterfowl seemed like a bonus. “It was amazing there were so many waterfowl in the area with such a concentration of eagles,” said Bull, “the ducks were definitely nervous.” In addition, you’ll keep your binoculars in focus gawking at Gillette Castle, the gorgeous homes along the river, and sheltered coves.

Eagle-watching boat trips run each year from February to mid-March, departing from the steamboat dock in Essex. Call Connecticut Audubon Society at 800-996-8747 for details and prices. Brunch at the Griswold Inn in Essex after your eagle outing comes highly recommended.