Birds Of Prey On Lake Maspenock

A majestic, man-sized, bald eagle perches elegantly on top of a barren tree, a few hundreds yards off of Sandy Beach. Directly above, three red tailed hawks dive and swoop towards unwitting, small-mouth bass resting inches below the surface of the water.

Is this Yellowstone National Park? No, these and many other birds of prey have been nesting and living right here on Lake Maspenock in Hopkinton for years.

Along with great blue herons, osprey, and red tailed hawks, Lake Maspenock's most prestigious visitors have been a family of bald eagles.

Long-time lake resident and nature enthusiast Phil Pichel, has scouted and taken many gorgeous photographs of these elusive birds. Phil was one of the first residents to spot the bald eagles back in the Spring of 2010.

"I was out on my boat one day looking for an osprey," Pichel said, " when I spotted a bald eagle near Woody Island."

"My wife had recently won a nice camera in a raffle, so I raced back to my dock, collected my family and grabbed the camera," he continued.

Returning to the same spot, Pichel not only encountered the same bald eagle, but two others including a female and a large adolescent.

"The adolescent eagle was massive," said Pichel.

During the past year, many other lake residents have spotted the eagles as well, including one sportsman who placed a leftover deer carcass on a rock for them to feed.

This year, only a single male bald eagle has been spotted by lake residents.

"I haven't seen the same eagle family from last year," said Pichel. "This male eagle has a larger hooked beak from the one I saw last year."

Lake Maspenock provides a perfect delicatessen for birds of prey and other birds, as it is teeming with sunfish, large & small mouth bass, pickerel, perch, sunfish and catfish.

The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America. the number of nesting pairs in the lower 48 United States increased ten-fold, from less than 450 in the early 1960's, to more than 4,500 adult bald eagle nesting pairs in the 1990's. In the Southeast, there were about 980 nesting pairs in 1993, up from about 400 in 1981. Today, there are an extimated 9,789 nesting pairs of bald eagles, according to www.baldeagle.com.

Not to be outdone by the bald eagle, a majestic osprey makes its home along the lake as well. With dark wings, white belly and a sharply hooked bill this large and lanky raptor soars high above the trees, only to swoop down at warp speed to catch fish.

One of the largest birds of prey in North America, the osprey east almost exclusively fish. It is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica.

Another Lake Maspenock bird resident and dock visitor is a great blue heron. This familiar bird perches patiently on residents docks, boats and in trees waiting for the perfect moment, then suddenly hurls itself into the water, surfacing with a catfish.

The primary food for the great blue heron is small fish, though it is known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and small birds, according to Wikipedia.

Before you load up the RV and head out to Colorado, grab your binoculars and head over to Lake Maspenock for some amazing bird watching!