There’s a feeling of anticipation and childlike wonder as birders gather at the base of a dam in western Connecticut. Dozens of eyes pierce through rows of evergreens and sycamores, scanning the gray sky.
Suddenly, a pop of brilliant white blazes in the distance. The star of the show is here. A bald eagle soars into view.
“Great shot!” Lucy Walker exclaims. “We have a bald eagle flying up and over the dam.”
For a long time, bald eagles were rare in Connecticut. But in recent decades, the birds of prey have made a stunning comeback. And here, at the Shepaug Dam in Southbury, the raptor’s recovery is on full display.
During winter, birds pop up at this hydroelectric dam to hunt for food. The dam keeps the nearby portion of the Housatonic River from freezing, making this a popular feeding spot. Last year, more than 30 eagles turned up on one day.
Perched birders watch with binoculars as the eagle’s white head and tail races past.
Walker, the manager of the bald eagle observatory that has been in operation here for nearly 40 years, explains to visitors what they are seeing.
“It’s heading right at us,” Walker says. “Circling around back towards the dam. Let’s see; is it going to land somewhere?”
For a moment, the bird dips out of sight.
“Where’d he go?” Walker asks, her eyes scanning the nearby water.
Suddenly, the eagle comes shooting back.
“There he is!” Walker says. “He’s right along the river.”
An observer shouts with excitement: “He’s skimming!” Sure enough, the flying eagle appears to have pulled something from the water with its sharp talons. The bird perches on a nearby tree, its head bobbing behind a thicket of branches.
Scott Thomas, a volunteer at the site, sets up a viewing scope to take a closer look.
“Is he eating?” Walker asks?
“Oh, he’s feeding on something there,” Thomas replies.
“He got a little fishy.”
River offers eagles easy-to-grab meals
Bald eagles are drawn to this spot because of the water and the fish, Walker says.
When the dam is running, it’s moving water. That means the river can’t freeze and fish get pushed along like easy-to-grab meals on a sushi bar conveyor belt.
“They go through a very big turbine and they get pulled from deeper sections of water into shallower sections of water,” Walker explains. “And these fish have to kind of come to the surface to adjust the pressure on their body. Which makes it for easy fishing.”
The dam, named the Shepaug Hydroelectric Station, is owned by FirstLight. The nearby observation post, which the power company currently funds, opened for birders to come and take a peek.
Since then, it’s hosted tens of thousands of visitors. Birders huddle inside the Shepaug Eagle View observatory, or grab a peek outside behind a fence, which is situated about 1,000 feet from the birds to give the animals the space they need to not get spooked and fly away.
When the observation post opened in 1985, bald eagles were in trouble – listed on the endangered species list. The only way you could really see one in Connecticut was if it was coming south during the winter to hunt for food, Walker says.
But today, thanks to conservation efforts, the eagles are back. Latest official counts show more than 80 breeding pairs in the state. In 2022, eagles produced more than 100 chicks. Early counts from 2023 show roughly 100 active bald eagle nests in Connecticut, up from about 30 a decade ago, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
For birders, the bald eagle boon has made this Southbury spot a veritable honey pot. Last year, 32 eagles popped up here just on one day.
Perched inside a heated hut filled with bald eagle posters and bird facts, visitor David Reuman scans through an observation window to catch a glimpse. He says he heard about the viewing spot from a friend.
“Everybody who’s been here recommended it. And that was enough for us,” Reuman says.
Birders bask in avian splendor
Today’s eagle is snacking near a spot known to the birders here. It’s called the “V-tree.”
Walker says other nearby eagle hangouts have names that are equally descriptive: “skinny tree,” “first tree” and “that is called the white pine,” she says.
“So we’ll go, ‘Oh, there's a bird in the white pine!’” she says. “And everybody who works here knows exactly what I'm talking about.”
Lorraine Amalavage, another guide at the site, says other birds pop up here, too. As a reporter arrives, a pileated woodpecker, the state’s biggest, flies over the parking lot. Nearby, a pair of ravens builds a nest.
“We can get red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned Hawks,” Amalavage explains. “We've had a peregrine falcon that’s made an appearance once in a while.”
But it’s the bald eagles that steal the show. Amazing kids and retirees who are kids at heart.
“Normally what you get – the first thing when they look through a scope – is, ‘It’s an eagle! I see it!’ You get the joy and excitement of seeing that bird for the first time,” Amalavage says.
Asked by a reporter why people respond that way, Amalavage chuckles.
“I don’t know! I think it's just something. It's our national symbol. And I think just to finally see something like that in the wild – since they've been so rare over the years – I think it's still a thrill,” Amalavage says.
As winter winds down, bald eagles across the state will find their own thrills. It’s mating season, which means eggs and babies. Chicks that will eventually grow up – and maybe, fly back here.
Where a bunch of fans will be eagerly waiting for them.
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