Nine of us met for a GMC bird walk on a cold but beautiful Easter morning. A report of bald eagles at Basin Harbor led us to abandon our original destination, turning a well-planned walk into an outing full of exploration and adventure.

Every trail and every walkway at Basin Harbor was glacial: huge curved slabs of clear ice, long slopes of ice-covered snow, flat skating rinks of thin ice covered with water. There was butt-sliding. There was crawling on all fours. There were some brave upright descents that built up surprising speed and ended with full-body tree hugging. AND there were eagles! At one point, we were watching six adult bald eagles lined up on the ice like beads on a necklace. In all, we estimated that we saw at least eight adults and one immature eagle. Maeve Kim, trip leader.

Other birds sighted:

  • Robins, with their breasts incredibly bright
  • Tufted Titmice, singing their loud “PEEEur” over and over
  • Black-Capped Chickadees
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch
  • American Crows
  • Ring-Billed Gulls
  • Possible (very distant) Greater Black-Backed Gull
  • Mallards
  • Common Mergansers
  • Common Goldeneyes
  • Buffleheads
  • Red-Tailed Hawk
  • Mourning Doves
  • Pigeons