Last weekend was the Merrimack River Eagle Festival and there were plenty of eagles to go around. If you missed the festival, or you participated and just can’t get enough, you can go out on your own and likely see eagles. Bald eagles are year-round residents here now, with several nesting pairs in the area.
This winter has been exceptionally cold and even more eagles have come south to the open waters of the Merrimack River to fish. Areas along the river where the frozen Merrimack opens to flowing water, allowing the eagles to fish, are the best places to look.
Bald eagles may be seen anywhere along the Merrimack River from Newburyport Harbor to West Newbury. The best local viewing is usually along the river from Cashman Park west to beyond the Interstate 95 bridge near Maudslay State Park.
Good vantage points are from Cashman Park, from Deer Island at the Chain Bridge looking down river toward Eagle Island; or from Main Street, Amesbury, looking across the river for eagles perched in the pines and birches near the Newburyport Pumping Station and Maudslay State Park. Eagles are also present further up river, seen from the Rocks Village Bridge or anywhere the river is open along River Road in West Newbury.
Bald eagles are often spotted in the harbor from Joppa Park, the sea wall on Water Street, or from the Salisbury side of the river. They hunt the marsh at the Salisbury Beach State Reservation, and on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, where closer views can often be had.
The adult bald eagle with its white head and tail is easily recognized, while immature eagles are mostly all dark-brown with some white in the body or wing linings, depending on its age. It takes an eagle five years to reach full maturity and its completely white head and tail. The females are about a third larger than the males.
Eagles are best distinguished by their large size and enormous 7- to 8-foot wingspan. They hold their wings flat when soaring and often show “fingers” at the tip of their wings. In comparison, turkey vultures are large, dark birds but smaller than an eagle with only a 5-foot wingspan. The vultures hold their wings in an upward dihedral, tipping in the wind as they soar.
Searching the waters and shoreline of the Merrimack can reward you with close-up views of our national birds perched, soaring, and even catching fish along the river. Eagles prefer fish but they will eat ducks or small mammals in winter. Their keen eye sight helps in pursuit of their prey. Eagles have two to three times greater vision than do humans – it is their most developed sense.
The eagles’ talons are its real weapon. When diving upon its prey, it spreads its talons out in a cross-like fashion. Its hind toe is its most powerful with the longest, strongest talon. When striking, the force of impact drives the hind talon into the side of its quarry while the others encircle it. Eagles use their sharp beak to tear open their prey and will consume it bones and all. Their strong stomach acids dissolve the bones.
Late one afternoon this past week, Margo and I watched an adult pair of bald eagles share some prey atop one of the Osprey platforms south of the Wilkinson Bridge to Plum Island. The prey (likely fish or duck?) was on the platform and there was a perch beside the platform.
They took turns back and forth, consuming the prey. A short time later, on our way home along Route 1A in Newbury, two adult bald eagles flew overhead heading west. These were likely the same birds, one of the resident pairs that may be nesting along the Parker or Mill rivers.
The temperatures are supposed to moderate this weekend and will be less challenging than the bitter cold and wind that happened during the festival. So go out to one of these sites along the river and scan the trees and the sky with your binoculars and look for eagles.
If birders are there with scopes, they will likely share, and let you have close-up views of these majestic birds!
Steve Grinley is the owner of Bird Watcher’s Supply and Gift in the Port Plaza, Newburyport. Email him at Birdwsg@comcast.net. On the web: www.birdwatcherssupplyandgifts.com.