birdsoup

If there were any groundhogs at Croton Point Park this morning they certainly saw their shadows. The cloudless sky was bright blue and the warmth from the sun counteracted the colder temperature.

I billed today’s walk as a Bald Eagle walk, so our objective was to find eagles. A friendly group of 16-18 birders joined in morning’s scavenger hunt. First we headed up the hill to the nature center. Eagles often sit in the tall trees overlooking the river.

The bird feeder attracted the normal variety of backyard birds: chickadees, juncos, white and red-breasted nuthatches, mourning doves, white-throated sparrow, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker. The best birds at the feeder were Am. Tree Sparrows. But no eagles in sight. The park naturalist mentioned she had seen 15 eagles from the train that morning but, when pressed, she admitted they were about 12 miles further north.

Well, maybe an owl. There have been reports of a Barred Owl in the pine grove near the camp ground. A quick drive took us to the pine grove but no owl was present.

Finally we headed to the boat ramp by the train station where the Croton River merges into the Hudson River. That is normally the best spot to find an eagle. And we did. First we spotted a pair sitting side by side in a distant tree. Then we noticed another, closer adult eagle. Everyone got a good look at it through a scope. Next an eagle flew over the railroad bridge and landed at the very top of a tree across the tracks. Quickly we had it in the scope for an excellent close-up view.

Final score for the day: Groundhogs, 0; Bald Eagles, 4