Eagle Spotting. Here we are in the deep freeze again. After yesterday's snow, the streets are tough going for pedestrians. Most (but not all) downtown Peekskill business and building owners promptly clear their sidewalks, but still, the curbs are slushy and the streets are slippery.
I haven't been spending a lot of time outdoors the last few weeks. But I have braved the cold a few times to go looking for bald eagles. It's the best time now - before they head north to their nesting grounds. They like to sit on ice floes on or at the edge of the river, so right now - with so much river ice - should provide ideal eagle spotting conditions.
But when I've gone looking for them, our local bald eagles have proven elusive. One recent frigid day we took a drive up to the lookout on Route 6, just south of the Bear Mountain Bridge. I like that lookout. It's a fabulous place to take visitors, with its beautiful views of the river and the bridge. There are also informative plaques about the eagles and the history of the river.
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It was insanely windy and cold. And we saw no eagles. (For the record, I've seen plenty of bald eagles in our area, but in all the times I've stopped at that bald eagle-dedicated lookout, I've never seen one there.)
A few days later I drove down to Riverfront Green, again looking for eagles. I would normally walk down, but it was icy and again ridiculously cold and windy. Just walking from the parking area to the river froze my face and extremities. There was lots of ice on the Hudson - but no eagles.
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But shortly after that I had an errand that took me over the Bear Mountain Bridge. Driving back - there! - out on the ice in Annsville Creek, was a sole bald eagle. Finally! It was my first sighting of the season.
However, my most recent eagle spotting took my breath away. I had just merged onto Route 9 south at South Street, when a bald eagle flew across the road, right in front of me. In its talons was a large, writhing snake or eel. It was quite the eagle spotting jackpot.
