The Bald Eagles of Onondaga County

[Daveboone]

Growing up in CNY the only Bald Eagle we saw was in movies or books. They were so rare you never expected to see one outside of Alaska. Even here in Onondaga County, (well, I can see Onondaga County from here across Oneida Lake) many folks are unaware of a phenomenon (phenomena?) over the past 10 years or so of dozens of bald eagles wintering over at the south end of Onondaga Lake, where  it doesnt freeze due to the inflow from Ononodaga Creek and the Syracuse sewage treatment plant. Today we drove down to track them down, and from the Destiny Mall parking lot were able to see at least two dozen baldies perched in the trees over the lake, or cruising nearby. The pathway to the lake is closed off while they are there, but one huge adult was only about 100 yards away. The east end of Oneida Lake also holds a few until it freezes solid. They tend to be more approachable as the eagles are literally right in town which goes right up to the edge, as opposed to the end of ONondaga Lake, which is heavily wooded and across a set of railroad tracks, the area being off limits to closer approach when the eagles are present.

Leaving the area we saw several more along Onondaga Lake park, and with some regularity we see them closer to home on road kill deer off Rt. 49 along the norths shore of Onondaga Lake. It may be a low scale thrill, but if you are in the area over the next few weeks while the Eagles still linger, it is worth checking out.

We were taking some pics with our new camera, but dont know when I will have them...it is the wifes project to figure out downloading and editing them.