HADDAM, Conn. — It’s an eagle eye view in Essex where the bald eagle soars overhead. It’s been a steady increase in the eagle population over the years. However, the now threatened eagle was once considered endangered. The once endangered species population was at risk due to the loss of habitat, trees and food contamination due to pesticides.
Steve Sarnoski from the CT River Museum in Essex explained.
“So Eagles are always around water because they are fish eaters and there when there was a lot of pollution in the rivers," said Sarnoski. "Especially with DDT what happen was that slowly builds up in their bodies it wasn’t killing them but what was happening it was causing the eggs to be weekend and the shells were being crushed so by having clean water it’s going to have healthy food for them in the population can grow.”
But the Clean Water Act of 1972 helped improve the conditions on the Connecticut River, thus the return of more nesting Eagles.
In Essex, the CT RiverQuest allows you to take a boat tour to get close enough to capture the symbolic creatures.
Captain Mark Yuknat has been setting his sights on bald eagles for 18 years now.
“We went through a period of time here in Connecticut where we had zero eagles nesting here now we have 45 successful nests last year and 83 babies produced in Connecticut,” said Yuknat .
With the use of some binoculars out on the water you can catch some of the nesting eagles in there natural habitat “it’s so much fun in the winter when you’re normally not associating yourself out on the water in going to see some things like the bald eagles it’s a beautiful bird we have young ones we have adults we teach people all about the differences between them”
The cruises run this winter you can find more information here.