By MARIKE HARRIS, FOR THE RECORDER AND TIMES, link to original post (with photos)
The magnificent bald eagle that used to grace our skies and soared above the Thousand Islands until the 1930s is back.
Since pollution and encroaching human populations eliminated the birds, their re-introduction to the area after more than 70 years can be taken as a sign that our ecosystem is recovering, scientists say.
In a motion of hospitality, local scientists and volunteers are putting up platforms for their nesting needs.
From 1937 to 1999 not a single pair of eagles nested in the Thousand Islands area, said Bud Andress, the newly re-elected co-chairman of the St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group.
Now three pairs of eagles have been discovered nesting here and rearing their young, he reported.
In the winter months, they migrate south, but approximately 100 of the bald-headed raptors arrive here for the winter after migrating south from James Bay, the Eastern Townships in Quebec, and Labrador. The St. Lawrence River offers optimal terrain and open water and plenty of feeding opportunity, Andress said.
“When we saw wintering eagles in the 1980s we got very excited, which led to recording hundreds of sightings,” said Andress, who is considered an eagle expert and is devoted to the growth of the eagle population in the area. “It was not until 1999 that the first nesting pair of eagles was discovered, and since then, we have found two more nesting pairs.”
The working group, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan and the Leeds and Grenville Stewardship Council have been developing a habitat conservation strategy to identify, prioritize and protect valuable bald eagle habitats in the Lake Ontario and upper St. Lawrence River Basin and establish the bald eagle restoration goals and objectives.
Other scientists, geographers and organizations such as Bird Studies Canada, Parks Canada, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Canada Wilderness Services have worked with the bald eagle working group to identify and conserve important eagle habitats.
Using the study of geographical information systems, habitat sites that fit the criteria were located including some within St. Lawrence Islands National Park and the area from Landon Bay eastward to Jones Creek.
With help from volunteers and tree climbers, the Leeds and Grenville County Stewardship Council has been building bald eagle nesting platforms for the past five years in Gananoque Lake, Charleston Lake, Red Horse Lake, Lower Beverley Lake and along the St. Lawrence River.
