Snow Birds of Prey: The Eagle, Falcon, and Harrier

Juvenile Bald Eagle over Atco Lake

This warm spell is making me look forward to spring when many bird species return to Jersey. In the meantime, I’ve been photographing the birds who spend the winter with us. After the blizzard  earlier this month, I took my camera to Atco Lake. Mallard ducks and Canada geese make the lake their home along with a pair of swans. The swans are usually on the other side of the lake, but I once caught them feeding very close to shore.

I went to the spot where I had photographed the swans but didn’t expect to see much with the lake frozen over. Suddenly, a large brown bird swooped over the ice directly in front of me, close enough for me to immediately recognize it as a juvenile bald eagle searching for breakfast. With slim pickings on the ice, it soared away over the White Horse Pike.

Atco Lake Eagle and White Horse Pike (Photo by Beach and Barrens)

Peregrine Falcon on Forsythe’s Osprey Platforms

I also made several trips to Forsythe this month. I was hoping to get shots of snowy owls or bald eagles but no luck there yet. The drives were not in vain, though, since I got my first shots of peregrine falcons. I caught two of these famously fast and wide-ranging raptors perching on the vacant osprey nesting platforms. This one returned the gaze of a group of bird watchers for a few minutes before taking off.

Peregrine Falcon Taking Off (Photo by Beach and Barrens)

Northern Harrier along Wildlife Drive at Forsythe

I’ve encountered harriers on numerous occasions at Forsythe but have not had the best of luck getting a good photo of this medium-sized raptor with an owl-like face. I spotted several hunting along Wildlife Drive on each of my visits. Their usual prey includes small mammals and birds, but I saw one going after ducks once. On another visit last spring, I photographed one near one of the observation towers. On my most recent visit, I photographed one at the beginning of the drive and another where the drive loops with Atlantic City and Brigantine in the background.

An Eagle, Harrier and More on Election Day

I lived in Brigantine, NJ all my life but somehow never took the time to visit the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The Brigantine Division of the refuge is across the bay, but I didn’t make my first visit until late last year after I moved off the island and hiked Wildlife Drive several times. I heard bald eagles were fairly common there and was eager to see one.

I made one of my first hikes on the afternoon of election day in November 2020 after casting my vote. Although the nesting season was over and many species had migrated to warmer areas for the winter, I photographed a double-breasted cormorant capturing an eel for dinner, but it was unfortunately too far away for a good shot. The eel looked like it was putting up a fight and had wrapped itself around the bird’s neck. Eels are common prey for cormorants, and if you do a Google search, you can easily find photos of life and death photos between the two species, and according to a few accounts, the cormorants do not always win.

Walking on my way back up Wildlife Drive to the refuge parking lot, I noticed a bird of prey terrorizing some ducks and quickly took photos. At first, I hoped it might have been a bald eagle since I saw a flash of white, but it was too small. According to my Merlin app, it was a Northern Harrier. The white I saw was on its rump, which is characteristic of these hawks with owlish faces. I thought this one was a female since it was more brownish. The males are gray with white bellies giving the species the nickname of “gray ghost.” It might have been an immature bird as well since juveniles of both sexes have reddish-brown bellies. As with the double-breasted cormorant, it was unfortunately too far away for really clear shots. Although I was hoping, I wasn’t expecting to see a bald eagle on my first visit so I was happy to encounter the harrier. At least I got some photos of one bird of prey on my trip.

Hunting Harrier (Photo by Beach and Barrens)

As I continued walking, I glanced behind and saw a large bird soaring silently above. This was unmistakingly an adult bald eagle. Unfortunately, this one was in a hurry and passed overhead too quickly to get a good photo. I only got a few underdeveloped shots but they were clearer than the only other shots I have taken of an adult bald eagle, which I took with a cell phone.

I downloaded all the photos from the day at home later and I tweaked them with an image editor. It improved them slightly, but I hoped to get better shots on my future trips to Forsythe.

Election Eagle (Photo by Beach and Barrens)

That was not my last bald eagle of the year 2020, though. I was on my way to a post-Thanksgiving hike in Wells Mills County Park in the morning when I caught this juvenile bald eagle near Chatsworth at the side of the road on Route 532. I drove past it before fully realizing what it was but pulled to the side of the road to take some photos. It took off too fast to get a clear shot of it’s head, though. I was still impressed with its size.

Roadside Eagle (Photo by Beach and Barrens)