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Blogs by Patricia Hilliard
Bald Eagles Return 5/8/2017 12:19:29 PM
It's been over 100 years since Bald Eagles have nested in Hudson County, New Jersey. Why shouldn't they stay? My husband and I were leading a bird walk. The location was next to a golf course. Some of the land had been spared for bird habitat and the birds were making the best of it. There were migrating warblers, a few shorebirds and some remaining winter ducks about to fly north. It was migration season, so we had a bit of winter and a bit of summer reflected in our bird count.
Seven people had gotten out of bed to meet-up at nine o'clock in the morning to see birds. They were bundled up against a late spring chill and all were carrying some kind of binocular or camera. I always wonder what we will see. Some of our bird walks have been relatively bird-less. It depends on the weather.
It also depends on the conditions. We live and "bird" in Hudson County, New Jersey, a place with a long history of industrial production, smoke and pollution. Yet, with some feeble efforts on the part of the state and the disappearance of some of the worst polluters, the air and water has greatly improved. The birds are migrating through, but many are staying to nest and raise young. It's wonderful to realize that areas so polluted in the past can be restored.
Today we reached the end of the trail and turned back with a count of 35 species. It was a good count for an easy bird walk. We were all happy and chatting about birds, nature, camera problems and the weather.
Suddenly one of our group started acting histerical and pointing toward the sky at "high noon." A big black and white bird was flying directly toward us. It was a BALD EAGLE. It was coming in close. Binoculars and cameras went up. Click, buz, zip--the event was being recorded and would soon be seen on Facebook and elsewhere. No one would believe this. We just had a Bald Eagle fly over. Cheers rose from our happy group of birders. It was a marvelous day.
Bald Eagles are now nesting in Hudson County for the first time in over 100 years. The water is clean enough to encourage the reproduction of fish to feed the eagle's young. The eagles fly through cleaner air too. We don't want to go back to the days of smokey air and poisonous rivers. We'll have to think about how we can protect the birds from the symbolic eagles who claim to be making America great again.
