February 23, 2024
Bald Eagles

Thank you to everyone who responded to last week's Musings from Main with comments and suggestions of avenues for further research. Hopefully, there will be a part-two Musing that digs a little deeper.

This week's Musings from Main celebrates nature, specifically South Windsor wildlife!  The two images used are of sightings in the area of the Hartford Audubon's Station 43 Wildlife Sanctuary located just off historic Main Street in South Windsor.

Bald Eagle

South Windsor Resident
or
"Snowbird"?

Image of Bald Eagle in South Windsor
courtesy of Joe Wojnilo.

This Bald Eagle was spotted near the Connecticut River in South Windsor, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is a year round nutmegger. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) states that, " Wintering eagles come to Connecticut looking for open water in which to feed when the land and waters in Maine and Canada are frozen. If harsh weather in Connecticut causes any open water to freeze over as well, the eagles continue to migrate farther south."

The open waters they are searching for provide access to fish in the wintertime, which is a favorite food of the Bald Eagle, but these birds will eat a wide variety of foods depending on what’s available. They take their prey live, fresh, or as carrion. According to Cornell University's All About Birds website, "Bald Eagles sometimes gorge, ingesting a large amount of food and digesting it over several days. They can also survive fasting for many days, even weeks."

Image of Bald Eagle in South Windsor

courtesy of Joe Wojnilo

See Them Up Close:

The Dwight E. Newberry Collection

Image of Bald Eagle: Adult ca.1890-1900 part of the Dwight E. Newberry Bird Collection on display at Wood Memorial Library and Museum(WMLM), Object ID number 1993.17.116

The Dwight E. Newberry Bird Collection is an assortment of Woodland, Meadow and Marsh preserved and mounted birds. The Newberry Collection includes Bald Eagles, both juvenile and adult, among some 117 specimens of other birds. Most of the species on display still use the local meadows as flyway or habitat. 

It is believed that this collection was created in a span of only a few years in the late 1800s when Newberry was a young man, and was displayed at the Newberry home on Main Street before being moved to the Wood Memorial Library & Museum.

Juvenile Bald Eagles

Image of Bald Eagle: Immature (Juvenile) part of the Dwight E. Newberry Bird Collection on display at WMLM,
Object ID number 1993.17.117

Most of us can identify an Adult Bald Eagle with its white head and tail, bright yellow legs and beaks with dark brown bodies and wings. It is a bit harder to correctly identify immature eagles. Juvinile birds have mostly dark heads and tails; their brown wings and bodies are mottled with white in varying amounts. A young bird will attain adult plumage in about five years.

Image of Bald Eagle: Immature (2nd Year) ca.1890-1900 part of the Dwight E. Newberry Bird Collection on display at WMLM, Object ID number 1993.17.118 

Cornell's website goes on to say, "Immature Bald Eagles spend the first four years of their lives in nomadic exploration of vast territories and can fly hundreds of miles per day. Some young birds from Florida have wandered north as far as Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska."

Thank You, Joe Wojnilo!

for your beautiful images of South Windsor Wildlife, and helping us fulfill our mission of bringing Nature alive!

Want to take a deeper dive?

Join other birding enthusiasts on the third in a series of Beginner Bird Walks at Station 43 taking place March 2, 2024, at 8am

or

Explore previous Musings from Main which focus on nature, available on our website.

Sources use for this Musings From Main:

• Friends of Wood Memorial Library and Museum website.
• Friends of Wood Memorial Library and Museum online archival database.
• CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) website.
• All About Birds Cornell University website.

Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested.

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