An Eagle Celebration

Story and photos by Jim Murtagh

Join the celebration and commemorate the triumph of the bald eagle at the 2007 Eagle Festival in Essex, CT. On February 17 & 18, the Connecticut Audubon Society will transform Main Street into a giant exposition that promises to bring thousands of families to this quaint community recognized as the number one small town in America. On this upcoming President’s Day weekend, the accolades won’t belong to the festival, or to the town, but rather to the symbol of American freedom, the mighty bald eagle, and to its gallant return from the edge of regional extinction.

“The bald eagle is certainly one of our success stories.” declares Andrew Griswold, Director of CT Audubon Society EcoTravel. Birders and non-birders, adults and children can delight in this jubilee that revolves around the heroic struggle of the bald eagle. Griswold encourages everyone to get caught up in the magic of the event. “It’s a way to celebrate our environment and a success story in conservation. Come out and enjoy them!”

An adult bald eagle: white head and tail, yellow beak, legs, and eye, black body feathers.

TV talk show host pioneer Phil Donahue and radio personality Faith Middleton of WNPR are Honorary Co-Chairs for this year’s gala. Both Donahue and Middleton share a passion for environmental issues, and will lead the festival which is filled with educational and entertaining programs.

Recognized as the largest birding festival in North America in 2005, the event attracted more than 15,000 visitors from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and even included international guests.

“It’s a wonderful family event. Here is an opportunity for families, kids of all ages, and parents to get together and spend the day with all these fabulous programs ranging from music and storytelling, to conservation programs, to live birds of prey demonstrations. It’s a really great weekend!” says Mara Neville, Director of Marketing Communications at the CT Audubon Society.

As the open water feeding grounds of Canada and Maine freeze solid, bald eagles are forced to migrate southward in search of food. Eagles are opportunistic feeders, and while their foray into CT makes people feel special, the eagles are simply searching for an easy meal. Julie Victoria, DEP Wildlife Division Biologist, says “I tell people, if it was to freeze here, and we were to have a very harsh winter, they would go further south. There is nothing keeping them here either.”

Each January, the DEP conducts a midwinter eagle survey to gauge how many birds are wintering in the state. The count is not a complete census, but rather an index that can be used to compare one year to another. The 2007 survey results are still being compiled, but it appears that the unseasonably warm weather in December and January have delayed the eagles’ arrival. Sixty-six birds were counted in 2006, but Victoria thinks this year’s count may only total half of the previous year. If the recent cold weather trends continue, the eagles should migrate to our area by February.

A Peregrine Falcon was just one of the many birds featured in the wonderful presentations at the 2006 Eagle Festival.

Connecticut maintains a stable resident eagle population, and for the past three years, eight to ten territorial pairs have been observed nesting. This year, six of those nests successfully produced a chick. Victoria is hopeful that some of these young eagles may choose to return to CT to establish their own nest when they mature in five years. Eagle chicks born in CT are banded with a black and white aluminum leg band, so that the birds can easily be identified through a spotting scope. The location of eagle nests are not revealed to the public to prevent disturbances to nesting sites.

The bald eagle is a large raptor and the top predator in the sky. Adults have a wingspan reaching seven feet and the birds weigh between 8 and 14 pounds. Females are 25% larger than males. A sharp hooked bill and two inch long razor sharp talons are used to grip and rip apart prey.

Young bald eagles have grayish brown plumage, but around three years of age, the birds begin to adopt their characteristic traits of yellow eyes, bill, and feet, a black body, and the signature white head. Eagles are fully mature by five years of age.

Bald eagle populations suffered major declines around the 1940’s. Pesticides, such as DDT, combined with human disturbance at nest sites, loss of habitat, and illegal trapping, nearly led to the eradication of the bird in the United States. Mara Neville remarks about the eagles’ struggle, “The fact of the matter is generations of conservationists and some very strong laws to protect the eagle, have allowed the bald eagle to make this slow but magnificent comeback.”

Eight years ago, Griswold noticed an increase in the number of wintering eagles on the CT River while conducting Eco-Cruises for the Audubon Society. He observed that people were getting excited about the prospects of seeing bald eagles and the occasional golden eagle. Griswold felt that a festival would be a good way to get the Audubon Society’s environmental, education and conservation messages out to the public, and so the Essex Eagle Festival was started. Over 5,000 people attended that first year.

The feature attraction of the event is, of course, the bald eagle, and until you witness the beauty and grace of this massive bird soaring overhead, you will never fully appreciate why this animal was chosen as our country’s symbol of power and freedom. Watching a bird, the size of a fully grown man, pluck a sixteen inch fish from a flowing river, is simply astonishing. The eagle, which can travel upwards of 35mph, dives toward the water’s surface, and then just inches before crashing, spreads it wings like a parachute, thrusts its legs forward, and snares its prey with outstretched talons. It is a spectacular sight!

A juvenile bald eagle soars over the CT River in search of an easy meal.

The festival offers three venues to see the eagles. For land viewing opportunities, you can pick up a map and embark on a six stop self driven tour, or you can hop on one of the free shuttle buses that will transport visitors to an excellent viewing site just outside Essex. Bring binoculars or spotting scopes, and watch for eagles as they fly up and down the CT River.

To immerse yourself into the center of the eagle action, consider a guided eagle tour aboard the Mystique, a luxury cruise yacht operated by Lady Katherine Cruises. Departing from the Connecticut River Museum’s dock, the 1.5 hour trip offers participants the opportunity to observe eagles in flight or perched in trees along the river. This is the only festival activity for which there is a charge. Tickets need to be purchased prior to the event as there are only a limited number of stand-by seats available each day. If you can’t make it to the festival, but still want to view the eagles, boat tours are available from Feb. 3rd to March 18th. Call 800-714-7201 to make arrangements for cruises.

The schedule of activities and events planned for this year’s festival are as broad as an eagle’s wingspan. The festival organizers pride themselves on the fact that all shows and activities are free to the public with just one exception, the guided eagle boat tour. Everyone is sure to find something to captivate their interests. Events take place in heated tents for the comfort of attendees. The activities identified below are just a sampling of the offerings planned during the two day festival. For a complete list of scheduled events and their times, consult the CT Audubon Society’s web site at: www.ctaudubon.org

Honorary Co-Chair Phil Donahue will moderate a lively panel discussion among biologists and authors that contributed to the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Connecticut State of the Birds publication. This forum will address the most harmful human-controlled issues that threaten the state’s bird populations and habitats, such as free-ranging cats, invasive plants and white-tailed deer foraging.

The CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will present Eagles in Connecticut with biologists Julie Victoria and Jenny Dickson. If you want to understand why eagles choose to winter in CT, or to learn more about the state’s resident breeding eagle population, then don’t miss this presentation.

Live Birds of Prey demonstrations are perennial crowd favorites, so additional shows have been added to this year’s schedule. Get up-close and personal with live falcons, owls, and hawks, and learn what adaptations make these birds such feared and successful hunters.

Mark Hoyt’s 2006 Birds of Prey presentation featured hawks and other CT raptors.

There are two presentations aimed at helping parents spark an interest in the outdoors from children that might prefer to watch television or surf the Internet. DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy will participate in a panel discussion with author Kathleen Baughman McLeod, Stratford science teacher Jo-Anne McCann, and East Lyme High School sophomore Danny Williams, in a presentation titled Our Children and Our Environment. McLeod is also featured in a separate presentation called Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. For the kids, there are multiple activities planned to stimulate their curiosity about the outdoors. The Wonderful World of Owls will introduce the audience to a live owl, and teach kids how to use their ears to identify which owl species might be living in their own backyard. Birds on Parade is an interactive program for the whole family and includes a scavenger hunt. Backyard C.S.I. will challenge youngsters to become nature detectives and figure out just “Who Done It!” Owl Babies and Quack, Caw, Hoo, and Other Sounds Birds Make are two story time features that will be offered. The festival relies on a core group of Audubon staff members and hundreds of dedicated volunteers to coordinate all the activities, and ensure that the event runs smoothly. Volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and include local groups, the Junior Women’s League, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, as well as employees of the event’s major sponsors, such as Pratt & Whitney, WNPR, Hess Corporation, NE Utilities and Webster Bank. According to Mara Neville, it is the volunteers and the financial backing of the sponsors that make the Eagle Festival a reality. Generous sponsorship funding allows the Audubon society to conduct their “Eagles in Flight” program, just prior to the start of the festival. This year, an Audubon team of educators will accompany 425 sixth grade students from schools in Middletown and Hartford, CT and Newark NJ on the guided eagle tour aboard the Mystique, at no cost to the students. For many participants, this will be their first time on a boat. In addition to eagle spotting, the cruise will explore ecology and water quality issues and their effect on birds. The Eagles in Flight program is more than just a field trip for these students. The conservation message and the eagle’s struggle have been integrated into the participating school’s curriculums. Two fabulous days of eagle watching, environmental education, and conservation programs await you at this year’s Eagle Festival in Essex. The first eagle tours start boarding at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday Feb. 17th and the festival concludes late afternoon on Sunday. Come share in the excitement and witness the beauty of eagles soaring in the Connecticut sky. For complete event details, directions, or to become a volunteer and assist with the event, contact the CT Audubon Society at www.ctaudubon.org, or via email at: cteaglefestival@aol.com or call: 860-434-6095.