Iggles

[Stone_Fly]

I saw two Iggles today circling over the section Nescopeck Creek by I 80. Since I was driving I wasn't able to positively identify them as bald iggles, but from all of them that I have seen over the years, I assume that's what they were. They were not adult birds so that makes it more difficult to identify them.

 

[jaybo41]

That's awesome if in fact they were Baldies. I've seen a couple of them here on the western side of the state. One was flying over the Neshannock while I was fishing, the other was seen while on my way to Erie. Once you see one, it's no wonder why they are a symbol of America. What majestic and beautiful birds. Nice to see them making a come back!

 

[Slyvaneous]

I've had the pleasure of fishing the Allegheny the past 2 years to the frequent company of bald eagles, or, as we say, Ball-Iggles. No "D" ; swap the E for an I. I still get excited when I see them.
I think there are more out here in this region than further east or in Central PA. They like the lakes and the profusion of big, smooth-flowing rivers. Pymatuning Resivoir had several nests for many years but the birds never "took off" (Sorry). For some reason, the past 5-10 years have seen more eagles repopulating the region.
They are always a special treat, even if I see them every other day.

Identification: In the eastern part of the state, you are in a more dense migration route. You might, just MIGHT stumble onto a golden eagle. But until someone proves me wrong, any bird that I identify as a B.E. is just that. They are the easiest birds to ID. It's the only bird of that size and coloration (dark) that has straight, non-"V" wings (vultures). In fact , the B.E. wings are very straight. Board-straight, I describe them as. The hawks I've seen have some other contours or rounding to their wings. I've I.D.'d B.E.'s at about a mile away.

Syl

 

[FarmerDave]

There are still a bunch of them around Pymatuning. I see them nearly every time I go there. I only live about 25 minutes from Linesville and the nature center where they are often spotted. I believe the big nest is gone, but the eagles are still around. This summer my wife and I took my niece there with the hopes of seeing one. We were not disappointed.

I've also seen a few up close on my farm, but that is not a regular thing like at the lake. The two closest encounters were...

Coming back form the far end of my property with a load of firewood on the back of the UTV, one flew out of a huge maple tree and swooped right down in front of me (about 150 feet in front of me).

This summer I was playing with one of the dogs down at the pond, tossing a stick into the pond for the dog to retrieve. After the second toss, while the dog was on his way to retrieve the stick, a bald eagle came out of nowhere and swooped down to within 10 feet of the surface of the water near the stick about 75 feet from me, and less than 25 from the dog. It then went over to the tree line and roosted. While this was happening, I yelled for the wife who was up at the house (on the deck), but she didn't see him. I decided to leave the pond to the eagle with the hopes it would come back. I could still see him in the tree. As soon as I got on the opposite side of the barn (from the pond) and had turned my back on the eagle, the wife started yelling. "there he is again!" She said the eagle swooped down and caught a fish and flew off with it.

Also saw one feeding on a dead groundhog in a neighbors field once, but that was pretty far away.

 

[Chaz]

I've been observing Bald Eagles for about 40 years, and have seen many of both species. Even though the adults are easy to distinguish, however the young are confusing if you don't get a good look. The flight of the 2 birds is different. I talked to S F about the eagles and believe them to be Bald Eagles from his description.
Now as far as how many are in eastern PA vs. western PA, I bet the numbers are fairly even, we even had them nesting in Philly a couple of years ago, and they've been as close to Philly as Tinicum Marsh for years.
Since the main migration route through PA is along the Kittatinny Ridge and the large rivers we see a lot of them here in the east. They spend the winter along the large rivers here as they do everywhere you see bald eagles. Several nests exist along the Delaware River; I've seen two of them.
As for golden eagles we see them usually only during migration, but I've heard reports of nesting pairs in PA, but haven't been able to confirm them, nor have I heard anyone who knows the birds well confirm nests.

 

[FarmerDave]

Another thing I have been seeing a lot more of is Osprey.

I think you probably had more of them towards the east. I grew up in Northwestern PA, and the first one I ever saw was after I moved to Connecticut. Been seeing a lot of them In Ohio and far western PA the last few years. Very cool bird.

 

[Fishidiot]

I'm seeing more in recent years in the Juniata River and Raystown areas. A few years ago there was one that made headlines feeding on a road killed deer near Gettysburg. I also saw what I believe was a Golden Eagle in York County - may have been a juvenile Bald Eagle. The return of eagles is a great thing to watch happening here in PA.

 

[Chaz]

I remember back in the 70's when I first went to Hawk Mt. very few eagles were seen. That being said I've quite a few over the years at the look outs, usually the north lookout. The interesting thing is as the years go by the trend is for more sitings, but there are down years. However I am hearing more reports of Golden Eagles in PA. The only time I've seen one has been during migration, but I think it is possible that we have Golden Eagles nesting in PA, but they require open country, meaning large expanses of prairie type terrain. The are the most impressive flyers, demonstrating both size and power. They've been clocked at about 200 mph.