Search for Eagles

The overcast and cloudy morning began with birdwatching at home, where we added the usual feeder birds to our list. Over the course of the day, we traveled 148 miles through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) and the Upper Delaware Scenic River, starting at the DWGNRA Headquarters and concluding at the headwaters of the Lackawaxen River. Much of the Delaware River was ice-covered.

Our first Bald Eagle was an adult perched above the shale bank north of Tom’s Creek.The Bushkill Access was closed; however we added Golden-crowned Kinglet, Common Merganser, and Canada Goose. In the fields near Toms Creek a flock of 25 American Robins were feeding on Sumac fruits. We added Sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Harrier as well. Red-tailed Hawks were perched at Eshbacks. Two additional Red-tails were on Rt. 209 near the access to the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC).

The Dingmans Ferry Access was closed and the Dingmans Cemetery was devoid of eagles. We checked the mile-marker-16 nest site and discovered that a second nest had been constructed above the previous one. An adult eagle was perched above the nest. The mile-marker-17 nest site is no longer - what’s left of it is in shambles. No luck at Milford Beach. We checked the nest near the Pierce House and found no eagles; however, last Thursday I spotted two adult eagles at the nest (image above). From the Kittatinny Camp Ground pull-over we drew a blank, no birds. And we saw no eagles at Delaware Vvalley High School or behind the Best Western. Our next stop was the Riverview Inn near where PA, NJ, and NY converge. En route we added Red-shouldered Hawk and Red-tailed Hawks.

No eagles perched at the nest at the Port Jervis Laurel Grove Cemetery, but three were soaring near the Matamoras-Port Jervis Bridge, including two juveniles displaying courtship behavior in synchronized flight. We added the sole Ring-billed Gull at West End Beach. There were no birds at the Eddy Pond Resort overlook. At the Hawks Nest, where on occasion we find Peregrine Falcons, we spotted a perched adult eagle below us in the distance and Common Ravens in flight. After we crossed the Mongaup River and checked the Indian Head PA nest, no eagles were seen, nor as we traveled upriver. Fom the Mongaup Observation Blind we did see an adult eagle in flight. There were no eagles on Plank Road, however an adult was perched at the Rio Reservoir Dam and another along Rio Dam Road.

We returned to he Delaware and traveled upstream and discovered an adult eagle perched in a Pine Tree high on the ridge where eagles usually roost. There were no birds at the Mill Rift Bridge nest. It’s been a while since we observed any eagles from River Road in Barryville, but today we spotted one perched in Shohola. We crossed the Rebelling Bridge into PA where an adult eagle was perched near the bridge. We parked in the observation area at the Zane Gray Museum; the confluence of the Lackawaxen and Delaware was solid ice. While we were there two eagles appeared, one perched in NY and the other continued to fly upriver. We had tallied 14 eagles by the time we were at the Lackawaxen.

We traveled upstream along the Lackawaxen and added our 15th eagle perched near Roland Road. The next eagle was seen perched near Engvaldsen Road. We added an adult bird high on the ridge in tree where we had once seen 11 eagles roosting. Another juvenile was perched in a White Pine at Appert Road. An adult soared above the three-decker tiered nest at Field Bend Road. The final two eagles of the day were seen from the bridge on Kimble Road, a perched juvenile and a soaring adult.