The 2008 Eagle Festival Offered More Than Just Eagles

The above photo was taken Saturday morning at the Essex Town Dock in front of The Connecticut River Museum in Essex, CT. From this vantage point, there is a distant view of 3 eagles nests (it is no secret). The overall number of eagles seen during the festival is probably way down this year because there is too much open water on the river. This makes it less likely to see a concentration of eagles in one area. I did have a thrilling view of a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk that a Swarovski rep was able to line up in a scope for me. You could really see the dark patches on its wings and tail band as it hovered above the water much like a kestrel does. That was a life bird for me!

I didn't stay for some of the events that took place here, such as the live raptor demonstration. I was able to try out several binoculars. I thought that I had finally decided that Swarovski 8.5 x 42 EL were the best for me. Then I had to try that one last pair.-Zeiss 7x42 . It was the first time I ever tried Zeiss and boy, what a view! It is going to be a tough choice between those two when I can afford them. I did finally purchase a sturdy tripod and head. I cannot believe the difference! I have been struggling with a scope on a video camera tripod for two years. It was a foot too short for me and very difficult to adjust. This new one works like a dream and can be used for my camera, too. Here is one of the Lady Katherine Cruise ships. They were kind enough to donate the use of one of their ships for a school kids program on Friday called "Eagles in Flight". This is not the usual boat used for eagle tours. Eagle viewing boat tours can be booked through The Connecticut Audubon Society's Ecotravel.

After leaving the Essex Town Dock, I spent some time at some of the other eagle-watching locations. The Chester Ferry location seemed to be the most consistent place to see them. I had a nice view of an adult Bald Eagle perched on a branch eating a fish. I won't bore you with the photo which was much too distant to be of use. Some people took some nice digi-scoped photos but I am not equipped for that. Most of my fun came from locating eagles for other people that have never seen them before. Many of them were very impressed upon their first sighting, particularly some of the kids. Notice I said some; a few of the kids appeared to be less that interested (imagine that!). I actually saw a second Rough-legged Hawk here. This time it was a dark-morph, which still showed the tail band, but overall had less distinctive markings compared to the light-morph.

I was a bit surprised to see this seal taking a nap on the ice. It was at a marina near the East Haddam Bridge. Apparently, it has been there for a few days. I didn't know that seals swam up the Connecticut River. I don't know much about seals at all. The only ones I've seen have been in a tank. What kind of Seal is this?

After leaving the area near the East Haddam Bridge, I took a wrong turn that led me to this scenic waterfall that I've never noticed before.

I was mostly focused on the events surrounding the Eagle Fest this weekend but I did capture this short video of Ring-necked Ducks. You might as well turn the volume down when you play it because there is traffic noise in the background.

"Where are you guys going?" "Is it something I said?"

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Although there weren't the usual number of eagles in the area this weekend, The Eagle Fest is still a fun event. There was other events in the surrounding towns including a chili cookoff, chowder cookoff, and an ice sculpture event. I really like visiting this part of Connecticut. I came across something very unusual when driving along the back roads of Killingworth. I will tell you about it on Wednesday.

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How was your weekend? Did you see any interesting birds, plants, or animals?