Bald Eagles fly in for their cameo with Hawkwatch

“Eagles are great to watch, because they are relatively easy. If you know a little about them, you can feel like an expert,” Education Director Jen Hajj of HawkWatch International said. The annual Bald Eagle field trip went to Farmington Bay on Jan. 14 and left from the HWI building in Sugar House, 2240 South 900 East.

Hajj has been with HWI for six years, working with the Bald Eagle field trips since she joined.

“People seem to like it. Everyone sees what they came to see, and sometimes more,” she said.

HawkWatch looks for field trip locations that are no more than one and a half-hours from the rendezvous spot, have bathrooms, and are easily accessible for individuals to get a good view of the birds.

“It is important for people to feel comfortable,” Hajj said.

What we think of as a Bald Eagle, a brown bird with a white head and tail, is an adult bird, said Hajj. During the first five years of life, Bald Eagles are mostly brown. The feathers on their bellies turn white when they turn two, but they don’t start to get white feathers on their head until they turn four. Even then, they have an eye line similar to the osprey and can easily be mistaken for the other bird.

“They (the eagles) don’t get too territorial, if there is a lot of food to go around,” Hajj said.

Normally during the winter, the eagles cluster together in groups, but this year the birds have dispersed. Hajj suspects that this behavior is due to the fact that their food isn’t covered in ice and is therefore easier to spot. “There are more eagles in the city than I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Even though there weren’t as many eagles at Farmington Bay, there were still plenty of birds to see. Rough legged hawks, kestrels, horned larks, coots, northern harriers, and great blue heron are some of the birds that also frequent the bay.

“We don’t kill the fish for the birds,” Farmington Bay manager Richard Hansen said. The carp are an invasive species that make the water in the wetlands turbid. The Department of Wildlife Resources puts Liquid Rotenone in the water to suffocate the fish.

The naturally occurring substance isn’t dangerous to birds, humans, other mammals, or bees and it dissipates in 36 hours. It makes the food for the wetland birds more productive, and in turn the wetland itself more productive, Hansen said. It also draws in the Bald Eagles who’ve become accustomed to the food source.

Participants were encouraged to bring cameras and binoculars, HWI personally brought spotting scopes, which the guests could look through.

The caravan ended at noon and everyone ate the lunches they brought from home. There was no cost for the event, but HWI accepts donations. The staff is planning a volunteer trip to check on owl nests in the later part of the winter.

To find out more about the nesting boxes and other events with at HawkWatch International, visit website www.hawkwatch.org.