The third in a series of five Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen Memorial Field Trips, Search for Eagles, sponsored by the Brandwein Institute, took place in the Delaware Valley on February 18, 2025, from 9 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. This trip is the February 16 trip rescheduled. Temperature at the start was 12 degrees and finished at 19 degrees.
The day was partly cloudy and we began with watching feeder birds at home adding the usual feeder birds to the list. We logged 147 miles in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Upper Delaware Scenic River from Fernwood and concluded along the headwaters of the Lackawaxen. Much of the Delaware was ice-covered.
Jack Padalino, president emeritus of Brandwein Institute, led the search that recorded 31 species of birds, including 25 bald eagles, eight red-tailed hawks, and nine common ravens.
Our first two bald eagles at Heller’s were juveniles exhibiting courtship behavior. The Bushkill Access was open; however, most of the Delaware was frozen. Above the fields near Tom’s Creek two adult eagles were in flight as well as a common raven. A red-tailed hawk was perched at Eshbacks. Two additional red-tails were on Route 209 near the access to PEEC.
The Dingmans Ferry Access was open and had over 100 white-throated sparrows foraging near the bridge toll booth feeders. An adult eagle was at the Dingmans Cemetery and flew toward the river. We checked the mile marker 16 nest site and discovered that a second nest had been constructed above the previous one. An adult eagle was in the upper nest. The mile marker 17 nest site is no longer, what’s left of it is in shambles; however, an adult eagle was perched beneath it. No luck at Milford Beach. We checked the nest near the Pierce House: no eagles. From the Kittatinny campground pull-over we spotted an adult eagle perched above us on the ridge. No eagles at the DV high school or behind the Best Western. Our next stop was the Riverview restaurant near where PA, NJ, and NY converge and drew a blank.
We checked the nest at the Port Jervis Laurel Grove Cemetery, no eagle there. From the overlook we spotted a perched juvenile eagle on the Riverview restaurant grounds. From there we watched two adult eagles soaring above New Jersey, plus ring-billed gulls, hooded and common mergansers, and American black ducks on the water. We also added three eagles that soared above.
At the Hawks Nest where on occasion we find peregrine falcons we spotted an adult eagle and juvenile in flight. A common raven was there as well. After we crossed the Mongaup River and checked the Indian Head PA nest — no eagles were seen, nor as we traveled upriver. In the vicinity of the Ukrainian churches an adult bald eagle flew above us. There were no eagles at the Mongaup Observation Blind, on Plank Road, or at the Rio Reservoir Dam.
We returned to the Delaware and traveled upstream — no birds at the Mill Rift Bridge nest. It’s been a while since we observed any eagles from River Road in Barryville.
We crossed the Roebling Bridge into Pa. and parked in the observation area at the Zane Gray Museum; the confluence of the Lackawaxen and Delaware was solid ice. While we were there five eagles appeared. Two of the birds, an adult and sub-adult, exhibited courtship behavior by locking talons and tumbling through the air. We had tallied 25 eagles by the time we were at the Lackawaxen.
We traveled upstream along the Lackawaxen and checked nests at the pipeline crossing, swing bridge, Appert Road, and the triple deck nests at Field Bend Road. No eagles were seen along the Lackawaxen on this search.
The eagles’ nests will be monitored on our future Searches for Eagles. The March 2 search will be rescheduled. Search for Eagles reports are posted on the Brandwein website: brandwein.org.
Eagle observation data that we collect are shared with the National Park Service, members of the Sussex County Bird Club, Hawk Mountain, Highlands Conservancy, and Hawk Migration Association of North America HMANA.
In addition to the 25 bald eagles we observed: Canada goose, American black duck, mallard, hooded merganser, common merganser, wild turkey, bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, morning dove, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, common raven, black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, Carolina wren, eastern bluebird, American robin, European starling, American tree sparrow, white-throated sparrow, dark-eyed junco, American goldfinch, house sparrow.
Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen
Brandwein.org