Hi Sue,
Thanks for the then and now perspective. I think if the weather hadn't
been so hot and it was earlier in the day, you might have seen even more
eagles, especially in the area of the high cliffs (Fones Cliffs). There
were probably other hunkering in the shady depths of the riparian forest to
evade the heat. Boat surveys by DGIF, CBF, and FWS on the Rappahannock for
bald eagles over the past few years produced summer high counts of 250 or
more, and winter high counts of almost 400 between Tappahannock and Mount
Creek (about 10 river miles above Leedstown). The majority of them are
concentrated in the stretch where the Capt Thomas goes, and up Cat Point
Creek and around Horsehead Point. That stretch is also known as the
Rappahannock Important Bird Area, so designated because it is one of the
prime bald eagle concentration areas in the eastern US. Your enthusiasm
for their recovery is wonderful to hear, especially in a region where they
are taken forgranted because they are so numerous and because most of the
bald eagle concentration area is in private land and unprotected from
development.
Sorry if I sound pendantic!
Thanks,
Sandy Spencer
Warsaw, VA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Ridd" <susaneridd@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 1:13 PM
Subject: [Va-bird] Bald Eagles on the Rappahannock River
*July 16, 2010*: Between 10-11:30 am, 17 Bald Eagles were seen along the
shoreline between Tappahannock and Leedstown. The number of adults was 13,
with birds of the year at 4. The group, Tuesday Twitters, were aboard the
boat, Capt. Thomas along with other visitors.
*January 1978*: Norm Jaffee, another grad student at W&M, and I searched for
Bald Eagles by road all day during the Bald Eagle Midwinter Count. We roamed
through the bitter cold from Williamsburg to the Northern Neck. At the end
of the day, we finally found 2 adult Eagles feeding off the remains of a
merganser on the southern shore of the Potomac River. We were estatic at
finding the birds!
Time gives one a certain perspective...
Sue Ridd
Glen Allen, VA.
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