Winter Bald Eagle Watching Returns to the Upper Delaware River

Traci Vennie peers through her spotting scope towards the icy Upper Delaware River, searching for bald eagles near the river access point outside the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania.

“I just find [bald eagles] so majestic. To watch them glide, there seems like nothing can stop them,” said Vennie, a Delaware Highlands Conservancy volunteer.

Known for their striking white heads and dark brown bodies, about 150 to 200 bald eagles migrate down from the frigid temperatures of Canada and New York to the Upper Delaware River each year. They’re looking for food and habitat, says National Park Service (NPS) ranger Susie Kasper. “They definitely need some open water if they’re going to hunt.”

Bald eagles were designated as endangered in the 1960s, reaching an all-time low of 417 known nesting pairs in 1963. The widespread use of the pesticide DDT caused eagles’ eggshells to thin, leading to a spike in egg mortality during the incubation process, says Kasper.

That all changed through massive conservation and restoration efforts from local and national environmental groups, from the 1960s into the early 2000s. Now, it’s estimated that the bald eagle population has climbed to more than 416,000 individual bald eagles including 71,000 nests, according to the American Eagle Foundation.

Volunteers Mary Anne Carletta and Jack Barnett say that patience and attentiveness goes a long way.

“Take your time. Be quiet. Although the resident eagles here are kind of immune to people, a lot of the eagles that are visiting from other places north of us are not familiar with people, and they do get scared and don’t approach,” said Barnett.

Carletta, whose been volunteering at the Zane Grey Museum for years, says winter eagle watching along the river never gets old.

“I’ve seen an eagle on an ice float floating down the river, watching for fish in the water. It’s pretty cool,” said Carletta. “They’re just amazing to watch.”

Image: Mature bald eagle against trees in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania (Photo Credit: NPS / J. Leung)