The Hudson River EagleFest is one week from today. Last year the EagleFest was cancelled due to a major snow and ice storm the day before made the going too treacherous for the general public. The eagles were fine.
This year the long range weather forecast projects mild weather for the week with temperatures near 50 degrees on EagleFest day. 
That would be good weather for people, but not so good for seeing a lot of eagles.
Many people have the impression that the Bald Eagle is a fierce hunter, pouncing on large mammals as it dives unseen from great heights. In actual fact the Bald Eagle’s favorite food is fish, particularly dead fish, which float on the surface of water making it easy for the eagle to gently swoop down and just pluck it off the surface.
Some people feel the Bald Eagle is lazy. Just sitting all day in a tall tree by a stream or pond waiting for a dead fish to float past. In the winter eagles are content to stay put where they are as long as the local waters do not freeze. However, if the weather turns cold and the water freezes, eagles fly south to where there is open, unfrozen water. Croton Point is an ideal location. The Hudson River is fairly wide at that point and usually doesn’t freeze over. In the addition, the Croton River empties into the Hudson. And when the Croton Dam releases water, the river stays open and, more importantly fish are often stunned and killed during the release of water. Good feeding for eagles.
Last winter was a cold one and many eagles moved to our area from spots farther north. Over 100 Bald Eagles were seen between Croton Point Park and the Bear Mountain Bridge. Unfortunately this winter has been warm and not as many eagles have moved south.
So the weather for the EagleFest will be ideal for the various programs, raptor shows, talks and presentations. That should attract a large number of people. However, the number of live eagles flying free will be lower than usual.
Still, the EagleFest on February 4th is not to be missed.
birdsoup 
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