Basha Kill Nature Watch Program 2012

I made it out to the Basha Kill yesterday to do some birding, which of course includes stopping by the main boat launch to check on the Bald Eagle and Osprey nests that can be seen from there. It is good to get out there on  the weekend because on Saturdays and Sundays from late April until the end of June, the Basha Kill Area Association (in cooperation with The Eagle Institute & The NYS Department of Environ. Conservation) runs their Nature Watch Program. Volunteers are on site from 10 am until 4 pm with spotting scopes aimed at both the Bald eagle nest and the Osprey nest. According to the Nature Watch Volunteer Handbook, the goals and objectives of this program are:

• To provide education and heighten awareness of Bald Eagles, while encouraging the need to protect these birds, as well as the other resources of the Basha Kill.
• To ensure that visitors practice “eagle etiquette,” or the safest and least intrusive viewing of Bald Eagles, while viewing eagles at the Basha Kill and elsewhere.
• To provide data and anecdotal information to the DEC about the eagle and other wildlife activity and visitation.

I love to go out there while the program is running because you can get a fantastic view of the Bald Eagles and the nest in the spotting scopes, and I love interacting with the volunteers who will answer any questions about the Bald Eagles, the Basha Kill and the local businesses. I particularly like getting out there on Saturdays because Ed is there with his own spotting scope. Ed knows EVERYTHING about the Basha Kill, he monitors the eagles very closely and talking with Ed is always interesting and entertaining, and informative.

When I arrived at boat launch yesterday, Ed immediately informed me that the Eastern Bluebirds were once again active in the nesting box located there. He also told me that the eaglet was out of the nest – it had moved down onto a branch maybe 15 feet from the nest. The eaglet is now almost 12 weeks old and should fly any day now. I looked in one of the scopes and I could see both adults up by the nest and the eaglet down below, flapping its wings like mad, getting ready for that first flight. I stayed at the boat launch for over an hour in hopes to see the eaglet fly but it was not to be. Once the eaglet flies, it will stay close to the nest and its parents for one to two months, which will make for some exciting viewing at the Nature Watch for sure. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maryallison Farley and Patricia Diness who do everything to keep the Nature Watch Program vibrant and running smoothly – they both do such an amazing job.  I would also like to thank Linda Lou Bartle for her great photos of the Basha Kill eagles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from the main boat launch, I spent some time at Haven Road, the stop sign trail, and the deli fields. It was a productive day – I identified 33 species and got a few photos: