As mentioned in an earlier column, Moody resident Scott Chartier faithfully sits at his spotting scope each morning before heading on to work at the Adirondack Museum, where he is employed as master carpenter and exhibit specialist.
Scott’s scope is located at a window in the den of his attractive home, which is located on a slight rise of ground among elegant pine trees between MacDonald’s Boat Livery and the Moody boat launch site. This location provides him with an extended view of Big Tupper Lake and the Moody Marsh, or “Flow,” as it is known locally.
Scott keeps a log, and its daily entries reveal a great many noteworthy and interesting sightings among the wildlife that are drawn to the lush environment of the lake and the marsh that exists in Scott’s uninhibited view. No observation was more startling, however, than one early morning in late February this past spring.
Focused in the lens of his scope was a mature bald eagle, its 7.5-ft. wings beating powerfully as it crossed the ice-locked lake carrying a large limb the size of a man’s wrist in its talons.
As he watched, Scott was even more surprised to see a second eagle, also with a large limb, flying on the same course. Both birds headed to a location on the lake’s outlet called the “Bluffs.” (These bluffs should not be confused with Page’s Bluff, which is further to the south and on the lake itself. This spot was the location of one of the earliest camps on the lake owned by Robert Page, local businessman and one-time proprietor of the former Prince Albert Hotel at Moody. Mr. Page also ran the first general store in this village in partnership with Clarence King. This store was located on the corner of Cliff and Lake streets and would become the starting point of the disastrous fire of 1899, which destroyed the business section along Park Street.) Scott continued to log and monitor the frenetic stick-carrying activity of the eagles until it suddenly ended in early March.
Had the eagles constructed a nest? Were they now sitting on eggs? Scott would have to wait until ice-out in mid April to answer these questions.
Chunks of ice were still floating on the lake when Scott and wife Mary launched their kayaks and paddled to the white pine stand where the eagles had each time disappeared with the sticks in their talons.
It would require careful scrutiny before Mary spotted the massive collection of sticks that made up the nest. It was near the top of a pine tree, later measuring 97 feet high, hidden by the canopy of neighboring pines and barely visible except at that precise angle from the water.
Scott had discovered, identified, monitored and, later, reported the first documented bald eagle nest on Tupper Lake in at least half a century!
Note: In case you are wondering, osprey nests, which closely resemble that of the eagle, have historically occurred on County Line Island (vacated after forest fires on the island), at a point of land near Grindstone Bay and also in Black Pond swamp off Black Bay – perhaps because of competition from the more aggressive eagle osprey, which now seem to prefer the Racquette River corridor.
It is important to realize that with the banning of DDT, which had rendered the eagles’ eggs fragile and unproductive, and with the very successful New York State Bald Eagle Restoration Project in 1976, the eagle has made a dramatic comeback. Significant obstacles still remain, however, such as continued loss of habitat and the West Nile virus – which poses a new threat. Protective management such as prey analyses, predator control (human as well as animal) and data from banding of eaglets remains necessary.
That is why information, such as Scott provided, is important and welcome by the Fish, Wildlife, Marine Resources in Albany (Ph: 518-478-3053). As Pete Nye, head of the DEC’s Endangered Species unit, has noted: “In 1976, New York had only a single pair of nesting eagles. New Yorkers were literally a feather away from losing our national symbol as a resident breeding species. We cannot ever again allow that to happen.”
In a summary then of today’s column, it can be pointed out that from the earliest effort to reestablish the bald eagle in the Adirondacks, Tupper Lake observers, because of their cooperation and the reliability of their reports, have had a good rapport with the Albany Endangered Species Unit. This relationship probably accounted for the prompt reaction to Scott’s report and the assignment of Mary Beth Warburton, regional research assistant to evaluate the site.
In the next Transitions, we will follow the initial field check, the helicopter flyovers to determine hatching success or failure, the banding procedure (which required scaling the 90-ft. pine) and, finally, the eaglets’ adventure as they gained the ability to fly. Scores of residents and non-residents alike have been thrilled by the sight of eagles over Tupper Lake this summer.
We can be pleased and proud that our clean waters and pristine environment have provided a place of sanctuary and have contributed to this majestic bird’s well being. It’s a privilege many people have worked hard to restore.