Bald eagle spotted in Keene, NH, 3/9

You never know how things are going to turn out. During the week I looked at the weather forecast and decided to work Saturday and hike Monadnock twice on Sunday. But I didn’t get as much done on Saturday as I hoped so I reluctantly decided to bag Monadnock and do a shorter, quicker hike at the Horatio Colony Nature Preserve in Keene, NH.

Packed by hikers and repeated freezing and thawing, the snow was firm and my micospikes were the perfect tools for the job. I climbed to the top of the hill and was standing at the top of the clearing near the old stone foundation. I was looking to the north, identifying landmarks on Drummer Hill when a bald eagle glided across the bottom of the clearing.

It was directly over the big sycamore, only about 25 meters from where I stood. It never flapped its wings, it was just soaring on the currents. It seemed to move so slowly and because it was at the same elevation as me I got clear views of both as its top and bottom sides as it banked. It looked in great shape, especially considering that it just came through the winter.

I have seen eagles in the wild in the Catskills and out West, but this was the first one I have seen in Keene. It was majestic.

- Monadnock Volunteer (aka Steve)

Wow! Incredible... I haven't seen an eagle anywhere except Alaska. I certainly haven't seen one in Keene and if I did I probably wouldn't believe it or identify it correctly. What a great moment!

p2piper

The mid-winter eagle survey by NH Audubon and Fish and Game counted a record 67 birds this year.

Must have been a nice sight. Next time you see it, ask it to take a spin by Peterborough. I'll be waiting on N. Pack.

Seriously, I'll have to keep an eye to the skies more often.

I have a pic on my phone camera of 9 of them on my lake at work. The previous record was 5 at one time, so this was quite a sight for me.

Nice! Hope to see them soon.

happy trails

Raptors, including bald eagles, take route over the Wapack Trail during hawk migration. I've seen bald eagles during this time from Pack Monadnock. Do keep your eyes skyward.

Quietman said:

Must have been a nice sight. Next time you see it, ask it to take a spin by Peterborough. I'll be waiting on N. Pack.

Seriously, I'll have to keep an eye to the skies more often.

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I was on Monadnock Sunday too. I saw two people in microspikes, one of them must have been you. I was the silly one in snowshoes because I had to lend my crampons to my brother and I needed some form of traction myself! Too bad we missed the Eagle. That's awesome. There's a pair that nests in Bartons Cove near Greenfield, Mass. They actually have a TV camera up there so the locals can tune in to watch them. Little strange I think. There's also eagles near the Merrimack River in NH.

I guess we're lucky to live along the Maine coast, as we have had several sightings this winter of a bald eagle along the bike path that runs along Rt. 1 between Brunswick and Cook's Corner. Also saw two soaring high up on the air currents yesterday afternoon driving through Lisbon Falls. Always an awe-inspiring sight.

Eagles

Not trying to play one-up, but on the Powow River in Kingston, NH where we live, we have seen eagles every year with increasing frequency. They stay in winter until it completely freezes, then disappear until ice-out. Ice out has been going on for a couple of weeks now and we have seen one a couple of times, including a sighting by my 84 year old mother today. It is not unusual for us to see three at a time, a mother and father teaching a yearling to hunt. I don't have the right optics for my camera to get any decent pictures, but if I get something I'll post it.

KDT

Cool! They sure are majestic. A co-worker and I saw one about 3 weeks ago at work in East Deerfield, MA. It wasn't too surprising for us, since our work locale was about 2 miles (as the eagle flies) from the monitored eagle nest in Barton Cove along the Connecticut River. Still a cool sight nonetheless.

Hard to believe that it was only a few years ago that the only nesting pair in NH were up at Umbagog.

Quabbin sighting

My daughter and I saw one at the Quabbin. They are everywhere in Alaska!

My only sighting was on frozen Mountain Pond, in Bartlett. It was feasting on a deer carcass, which I saw being eaten by a pack of coyotes at sunrise that day. I'll try to dig up a pic.

I hope to visit Lake Umbagog this year, and bald eagles are the main attraction for my visit.

happy trails

I'll say they are everywhere in midcoastal Maine too. There are stretches when we see one a day.

Forestgnome,

There have been a handful of times this winter when up to 8 eagles have been seen sitting in trees along the Pea Porridge Ponds near where I live. Feb. 16 was the last time, as I recall. I happened to be on Plum Island that weekend with a birding trip of Tin Mountain's and missed the local birds, though we saw several on the Merrimack in Amesbury that day.

Eagles

Journey North is a fun site to learn about Eagles and migration.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/eagle/spring2008/Update031208.html

Their ornithologists are currently trying to radio tag some eagles on the Merrimack to follow their migration. For a few years now they have documented the migration of eagles from the lower Hudson river valley. In a matter of days these birds will start their trip north and the influence of weather on the migration pattern is pretty fascinating.

Live Eagle nest cam ! These are the ones in Mass.

We've got an observation area (Shepaug Dam on the Housatonic ) near us, you have to make reservations to go, though, to keep the traffic down. I've never been there, called today to make a reservation and today was the last day for the season.

Chip said:

Live Eagle nest cam ! These are the ones in Mass.

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Thanks for that link Chip! The kids loved it. I checked it this evening after dinner, right as the sun was setting, and just in time to see the Eagle bedding down for the night. I think I counted 3 eggs laying in the nest before the bird settled onto them. Should be interesting to see them hatch in the coming weeks.

Nesting pair on Little Loon Island of Squam Lake a few years ago. I cannot find my photos though.