Where are the Eagle Viewing Spots Around the Country?
See the Full Calendar of Eagle-Viewing Events for 2010
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Showing posts with label pa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pa. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
10 States Celebrate King Weekend With Bald Eagle Watches
This weekend 10 states have eagle-watching festivities over King Weekend. And that doesn't count three more states (OR, NY, NJ) that have eagles right over a river on their border. The recent cold spell seems to be pushing eagles further south. Northern states are reporting slow seasons while those in Alabama and Kentucky are having strong years.
Where are the Eagle Viewing Spots Around the Country?
See the Full Calendar of Eagle-Viewing Events for 2010
Where are the Eagle Viewing Spots Around the Country?
See the Full Calendar of Eagle-Viewing Events for 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
20 States Host Bald Eagle Festivals; Six This Weekend. Is There A Bald Eagle Near You?
In January and February rivers freeze and bald eagles have to come down from Canada to visit us. To capitalize on the event, Audubon clubs and parks around the country hold Bald Eagle Days or Festivals to give people a chance to see our national bird in places they haven't been seen in generations. Within a couple hours of New York, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, you can see eagles.
Twenty states have bald eagle festivals, although two have cancelled this year because of the recession. The Upper Skagit Eagle Festival in WA and the CT Eagle Festival won't be held this year. The eagles still show up, you just don't get the luxury treatment, which usually entails scopes and hot chocolate. CT Audubon even still has $40 boat tours.
Current Eagle Festivals: AL, AK, AR, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, MD, NJ, NY, OK, PA, TN, TX, UT and WI
We've got six bald eagle events this weekend. We don't just have a national bald eagle day because they show up at different times around the country. The peak for eagle days is the first weekend in February, with 11 states having eagle-watching events.
See the 2010 Calendar of Eagle Events
Where to See Eagles Yearound
Twenty states have bald eagle festivals, although two have cancelled this year because of the recession. The Upper Skagit Eagle Festival in WA and the CT Eagle Festival won't be held this year. The eagles still show up, you just don't get the luxury treatment, which usually entails scopes and hot chocolate. CT Audubon even still has $40 boat tours.
Current Eagle Festivals: AL, AK, AR, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, MD, NJ, NY, OK, PA, TN, TX, UT and WI
We've got six bald eagle events this weekend. We don't just have a national bald eagle day because they show up at different times around the country. The peak for eagle days is the first weekend in February, with 11 states having eagle-watching events.
See the 2010 Calendar of Eagle Events
Where to See Eagles Yearound
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Fish-Walking Ducks Imperilled By New Rules
The New York Times had an interesting story Monday about a endangered and strange animal tourist attraction in western Pennyslvania. The animals themselves aren't endangered. They're just carp and mallards. For 75 years the carp have been gathering in such thick numbers that mallard ducks walk on their backs to get bread thrown by tourists.
Linesville bills itself as "Where the Duck Walk on the Fish." The problem is that someone in the Pymatuning State Park has decided that the duck droppings have reached unacceptable proportions. So they are demanding that everyone switch to pellets. That would rule out the ducks. And the many duck-themed businesses around town. Which has locals fighting back.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has looked into the environmental impact of the situation before. The spectacle is supposed to bring in $55 million to the area. One study by Clarion University biology professor Andrew Turner found that the bread increased phosphorous in the reservoir by 50%. Too much phosphorous could produce too much algae. But the paper says that a local fish hatchery and sewage plant probably produce more phosphorous.
Look, the attraction is by no means natural, but that doesn't mean it's not worth sparing. People enjoy getting a close up look at the carp and ducks. Somehow it's always the people who just want to see nature who end up on the short end of the stick in these economic equations. It's ridiculous to say that we should get rid of the fish-walking ducks because they're unnatural when we're talking about a manmade reservoir near a fish hatchery.
Where to See More Animals in the Northeast
Where to See More Odd Birds
Linesville bills itself as "Where the Duck Walk on the Fish." The problem is that someone in the Pymatuning State Park has decided that the duck droppings have reached unacceptable proportions. So they are demanding that everyone switch to pellets. That would rule out the ducks. And the many duck-themed businesses around town. Which has locals fighting back.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has looked into the environmental impact of the situation before. The spectacle is supposed to bring in $55 million to the area. One study by Clarion University biology professor Andrew Turner found that the bread increased phosphorous in the reservoir by 50%. Too much phosphorous could produce too much algae. But the paper says that a local fish hatchery and sewage plant probably produce more phosphorous.
Look, the attraction is by no means natural, but that doesn't mean it's not worth sparing. People enjoy getting a close up look at the carp and ducks. Somehow it's always the people who just want to see nature who end up on the short end of the stick in these economic equations. It's ridiculous to say that we should get rid of the fish-walking ducks because they're unnatural when we're talking about a manmade reservoir near a fish hatchery.
Where to See More Animals in the Northeast
Where to See More Odd Birds
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Visit the Groundhogs at the Punxsutawney Library
Punxsutawney, Pa. Groundhog Zoo
Groundhog Day is Punxsutawney's day in the spotlight. But you can visit the groundhogs in their long off season at the Groundhog Zoo on Punxsy's Barclay Square.
In the winter Punsxsutaney Phil and Phyllis usually just sleep. But you can spy them in their groundfloor, windowed 'zoo' thats attached to the library on the pretty town square. (Occassionaly the groundhogs have escaped into the library)
Groundhog statues are easy to come by. Here's a story I wrote about visiting the place in the Washiington Post yesterday.
Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast
Groundhog Day is Punxsutawney's day in the spotlight. But you can visit the groundhogs in their long off season at the Groundhog Zoo on Punxsy's Barclay Square.
In the winter Punsxsutaney Phil and Phyllis usually just sleep. But you can spy them in their groundfloor, windowed 'zoo' thats attached to the library on the pretty town square. (Occassionaly the groundhogs have escaped into the library)
Groundhog statues are easy to come by. Here's a story I wrote about visiting the place in the Washiington Post yesterday.
Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast
Friday, January 06, 2006
Elk Shun Official Viewing Spots for Benezette, PA, Yards
Elk Herd of Benezette, PA
The largest elk herd in the east, about 552 as of the last count in 2003, roams wild in western Pennsylvania. There are elk viewing areas around Moore Hill in Cameron County and Benezette in Elk County. The NE PA Great Outdoors provides a driving map and a brochure they'll mail you.
For travellers, the great thing is the easy access. Western Pennsylvania is where you'd want to stop overnight on the way to the midwest--it's roughly halfway and it's easily the most gorgeous area you'll see on the way. The place to see elk are less than an hour off Route 80. Probably the easiest thing is to head to Benezette. When we visited in Jan., 2006, we toured the local official viewing areas. Some you just pull off the road and watch from your car, others have elaborate blinds or seated viewing areas. We got the consolation prize of tracks, but saw no elk. The woman at the Elk View Diner told us to check out the churchyard in town. Didn't see any, but when we stopped at the Benezette Store and Restaurant, the man casually told us there were two bulls across the street. (He also said they can usually be found in town.) Sure enough two massive elk were chewing on a lawn. The owner came out and shooed them away.
That's somewhat unusual. Most are very into the elk. There are elk decorations everywhere and endless elk-themed businesses. (Wapati is the native name for elk that you'll see everywhere, too.) The man at the store said that he, and most around here, don't ever get tired of seeing the elk. There's also an Elk Farm, to visit, buy elk jerky, or stay overnight.
Many signs warn you against just stopping on the roads. The animals are gentle but do weigh up to 1,000 pounds, you're ill-advised to get out, much less approach. They'll put down their antlers towards you to tell you to buzz off. We circled around to keep seeing them and we weren't alone. They wandered across a few yards, then plopped down on an empty lot to nap.
The big tourist season for the elk is the fall rut because they're most active. The locals like the winter because you can see the elk through the trees better. As always, dusk and dawn serve as the animal rush hour and you're best bet is to try then.
The native Eastern Elk was hunted to extinction in the are area in 1867. Starting in 1913, Rocky Mountain Elk were initially wiped out, but were reintroduced from Yellowstone in 1918. Hunting nearly wiped them out again so was stopped from 1931 to 2001. A local elk authority, retired biology professors Gary Ferrence worries because the hunt, pushed by hunters as a way to cut the growth of the herd, which increasingly was butting up against human development, has already reduced the herd by 10 percent.
Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast
The largest elk herd in the east, about 552 as of the last count in 2003, roams wild in western Pennsylvania. There are elk viewing areas around Moore Hill in Cameron County and Benezette in Elk County. The NE PA Great Outdoors provides a driving map and a brochure they'll mail you.
For travellers, the great thing is the easy access. Western Pennsylvania is where you'd want to stop overnight on the way to the midwest--it's roughly halfway and it's easily the most gorgeous area you'll see on the way. The place to see elk are less than an hour off Route 80. Probably the easiest thing is to head to Benezette. When we visited in Jan., 2006, we toured the local official viewing areas. Some you just pull off the road and watch from your car, others have elaborate blinds or seated viewing areas. We got the consolation prize of tracks, but saw no elk. The woman at the Elk View Diner told us to check out the churchyard in town. Didn't see any, but when we stopped at the Benezette Store and Restaurant, the man casually told us there were two bulls across the street. (He also said they can usually be found in town.) Sure enough two massive elk were chewing on a lawn. The owner came out and shooed them away.
That's somewhat unusual. Most are very into the elk. There are elk decorations everywhere and endless elk-themed businesses. (Wapati is the native name for elk that you'll see everywhere, too.) The man at the store said that he, and most around here, don't ever get tired of seeing the elk. There's also an Elk Farm, to visit, buy elk jerky, or stay overnight.
Many signs warn you against just stopping on the roads. The animals are gentle but do weigh up to 1,000 pounds, you're ill-advised to get out, much less approach. They'll put down their antlers towards you to tell you to buzz off. We circled around to keep seeing them and we weren't alone. They wandered across a few yards, then plopped down on an empty lot to nap.
The big tourist season for the elk is the fall rut because they're most active. The locals like the winter because you can see the elk through the trees better. As always, dusk and dawn serve as the animal rush hour and you're best bet is to try then.
The native Eastern Elk was hunted to extinction in the are area in 1867. Starting in 1913, Rocky Mountain Elk were initially wiped out, but were reintroduced from Yellowstone in 1918. Hunting nearly wiped them out again so was stopped from 1931 to 2001. A local elk authority, retired biology professors Gary Ferrence worries because the hunt, pushed by hunters as a way to cut the growth of the herd, which increasingly was butting up against human development, has already reduced the herd by 10 percent.
Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast
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