2023 01 16

Eagle Fest and DeKorte Park Ducks¶

2023-01-16

Today my sister and I went to the Bergen County Bald Eagle Festival. I heard about this festival from a flier that a close friend gave me the prior week. I wasn't too sure what to expect since it was also the first time the event was held. I was surprised to see a lot of people at the event, at least 60 people from children to older adults. The event was also very organized and well set up.

Upon arriving, we walked towards a group of people standing near viewing scopes. We spoke to one of the event organizers (who turned out to be the president of the Bergen County Audubon Society) who told us the scopes were aimed at a Bald Eagle nest in the distance. Apparently, Bald Eagles often ignore man-made nests (unlike Ospreys who depend on them), and instead choose to make their own nests. The nest looked like a very large squirrel nest.

We decided to explore the area and we saw some Double-crested Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls. However, it was very cold and windy out so we went indoors where different organizations had tables set up with information and merch. My sister and I each bought a hat to support the NJ Plover Project and Bergen County Audubon Society and made some donations to others. We found out about a maple tree tapping event among others and got recommended to take the Osprey boating tours in Cape May during Spring migration.

Later, there was a presentation indoors led by the BCAS President on Bald Eagles. I learned that in 1970, there was only 1 Bald Eagle nest in NJ but they have since made a huge comeback. The banning of a pesticide called DDT in 1972 played a huge role in this. Without that ban among other efforts, there was a good chance we would never see Bald Eagles in NJ. I felt very lucky to have already seen several bald eagles (including one just 5 minutes from my house that flew over my head at Rahway River Park).

After the festival (and eating at Soup Dumpling Plus), my sister and I decided to check out one of the nearby birding locations that someone at the festival recommended to us, Richard W. DeKorte Park. This park has walking trails that go over part of the Hackensack River that is more landlocked near the NJ Turnpike. You also get a great view of Manhattan from here (even better than the view of Brooklyn from Sandy Hook). Despite being near a busy highway and the city, the area feels fairly secluded and has many varieties of water fowl.

We did not stay too long because of the cold winds but we came back the next day to explore the park further. During our time there we saw four new waterfowl including Common Merganser, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, and Bufflehead. The Buffleheads were far from the walking paths and difficult to photograph but they could be seen diving down for food and re-emerging an impressive 30 seconds later. The Gadwall looks similar to the Mallard Duck but the males make a hilarious MEEP sound.

I will definitely attend next year's Bald Eagle Festival and return to DeKorte Park for birding. I already signed up for the maple tree tapping and will sign up for Osprey boating tours at Cape May.

Locations/Sightings¶

-> #location/River-Barge-Park-NJ

-> #location/Richard-W-DeKorte-Park-NJ