SOUTHBURY, Conn. — Things are looking up in Southbury, especially at FirstLight’s Shepaug Eagle Observatory where they are in the middle of another successful season.
Lucy Walker, the site manager at the Eagle View said it’s simple – American Bald Eagles come back each season to the Shepaug Dam at the Housatonic River for food.
“In winter as things freeze north, they need to travel south looking for open water to fish – fish are their primary diet," she said. "The eagles come here because when the Shepaug Dam generates electricity, it prevents the ice from forming because it keeps the water moving.”
2023 set a record for a single day of eagle sightings – 32 which happened last January. This season, 17 is the single-day record for sightings.
“We’re still doing well… and we’ve been averaging eight a day,” Walker said.
Looking through her long lens at an Eagle perched along some rocks on the riverbanks, Alice Gentili, who traveled to Southbury from Upton, Massachusetts said, “It’s very cool and it’s reliable, (the eagles) they’re always here.”
Scott Thomas, an observatory volunteer from Oakville said, “It’s just our national bird, it means everything to see our bird out there.”
FirstLight’s Shepaug Eagle View is open to the public on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays through March 10 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. It’s free to come to the observatory but reservations are required. To learn more click here.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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