Blueberry Island Eagle

[Convertible Girl]

Saw this guy on Sunday, May 25, 2014 on Blueberry Island standing watch over the nest.

[Barney Bear]

We have seen a bald eagle fly overhead along the shore of East Bear Island on several occasions this spring. Magnificent sight!!!

[Misha888]

Originally Posted by Flyfisha

Interesting how this post started about 8 years ago in Glendale. I saw a bald eagle right near the Marine Patrol headquarters area last weekend while trolling the Glendale shoreline!!

There is a family that lives on Locks. They swoop into Smith Cove between 3:30 - 5:00 depending on the amount of people around. It's nice to take a kayak out and stalk them. They're tenacious little buggers. I've heard a few squirrels come to their demise from the rooftops of homes in the area.

Here is a juvenile that landed in our tree.

[pjard]

Saw one just this morning on the Northeast side of Bear Island.

[Lin]

Originally Posted by Convertible Girl

Attachment 9427

Saw this guy on Sunday, May 25, 2014 on Blueberry Island standing watch over the nest.

Beautiful shot of the Eagle!

[znh]

We still see one in the morning flying between Diamond Island and back towards the Ames / LSP area. Have spent some mornings out there in the kayak watching him flying around, it's pretty fantastic

[pjard]

We took a ride out to Blueberry Island today to see if we could find the eagle. Low and behold there he was, we found him right away. If anyone is looking for a good "Eagle Watching" trip that's an easy one to find.

[Bmcgov78]

Where is blueberry island.

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by Bmcgov78

Where is blueberry island.

It's in the northern part of the lake, to the east of Black Cat Island.

[icg56]

I don't think you can easily sex a bald eagle. Are you sure this is a "he"?

[trfour]

Nested between Paugus Bay and Lake Winnisquam...



Terry
_____________________________

[Airedale1]

Awesome image!

[pjard]

Originally Posted by icg56

I don't think you can easily sex a bald eagle. Are you sure this is a "he"?

I wasn't implying if the eagle was a he or she. I have no idea.

[Tired of Waiting]

Originally Posted by icg56

I don't think you can easily sex a bald eagle. Are you sure this is a "he"?

a boat/ship either. But most would say "she's a beautiful vessel" if they saw one that struck them as being nice.

It's simply a figure of speech.


ToW

[donnamatrix]

It is much easier to tell the gender of eagles when they are together. The female is about 30% larger than the male. There are other telltale methods by looking closely at the hooding of the eyes, but more difficult to discern.

[SIKSUKR]

I can however confirm that the forums own member The Eagle is a male.

[Wolfeboro_Baja]

Originally Posted by jkjoshuatree

It's in the northern part of the lake, to the east of Black Cat Island.

Are you sure about that? Everything I can find online (Google Maps, Google Earth) shows Blueberry Island is east of Barndoor Island and south of Keniston Island. I don't have a lake chart in front of me so I can't be sure.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by Wolfeboro_Baja

Are you sure about that? Everything I can find online (Google Maps, Google Earth) shows Blueberry Island is east of Barndoor Island and south of Keniston Island. I don't have a lake chart in front of me so I can't be sure.

There is more than one island on Winni with Blueberry in the name.

The one with eagles is east of Black Cat and north of Hull Island. I checked Google Earth and the Blueberry Island we are talking about is call Minister Island which I believe is an old name for that island.

[Wolfeboro_Baja]

OK, thanks for clearing that up for me BI. I'll have to take a ride up there next time I'm on the lake.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by Wolfeboro_Baja

OK, thanks for clearing that up for me BI. I'll have to take a ride up there next time I'm on the lake.

Be careful, there is a lot of shallow water around that island. Plus one particularly nasty set of rocks in relatively deep water southeast of the island.

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by Wolfeboro_Baja

OK, thanks for clearing that up for me BI. I'll have to take a ride up there next time I'm on the lake.

When I went to view them, I saw them on the eastern side of the island, kind of right in the middle (if you're viewing the island from the water).

They were up VERY high (higher than you'd think the branches could support them).

And Bear Islander is right…the water is extremely shallow, especially on the eastern side (and the rocks he mentioned too, come out of nowhere).

I put my engine up and kind of drifted in to get closer. Then I jumped in the water to push back out to deeper water before putting the engine back down.

Good luck!!

And take plenty of pictures!!

[Winterharborway]

Hope I have some luck in finding them! Can you maneuver around easily there with a jet ski? I would love to see them!!

Thanks! Jennifer

[MikeF-NH]

Viewing is best from the east side of the island which is pretty deep on the approach to as close as you can get without having foreground trees obstruct the view. If you go b/t the island and Hull or the island and Black Cat, it is much more shallow and the view isn't as good. We were staying in a place off of Kona for most of last week and checked in regularly with our eagle neighbors and were never alone. There were always a few toons, bow riders or yaks checking them out also. Some people were getting out on the island (I have no idea why) but I think there is no benefit to the viewer to do this and think observers should give them that space. Bring binoculars if you really want to see them. With the naked eye, they are just outlines but a good set of glass will bring you right in there.

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by MikeF-NH

Viewing is best from the east side of the island which is pretty deep on the approach to as close as you can get without having foreground trees obstruct the view. If you go b/t the island and Hull or the island and Black Cat, it is much more shallow and the view isn't as good. We were staying in a place off of Kona for most of last week and checked in regularly with our eagle neighbors and were never alone. There were always a few toons, bow riders or yaks checking them out also. Some people were getting out on the island (I have no idea why) but I think there is no benefit to the viewer to do this and think observers should give them that space. Bring binoculars if you really want to see them. With the naked eye, they are just outlines but a good set of glass will bring you right in there.

…it's kind of cool to walk around the island because it's so small. There's a boy scout shack on there too. And of course you can pick blueberries.

I used to take our Whaler over there all the time as a teenager with a cooler full of food and drinks and spend the day there, snorkeling around it and hanging on the little beach.

It's really surprising how quickly it gets deep when you go from the west side of the island and snorkel clockwise towards the north and northeast.

It's a cool place to hang out for the day. A ton of people do it. You usually can't get near the beach during the weekend.

[C Tucker]

Although many of us, including me, occasionally go on the island. It is owned by AMC and Three Mile Island guests often camp out there or make trips and picnic. Please respect their rights so they do not make an issue of trespassing. Every few years the boats that moor there for the day are obnoxious and new no trespass signs appear and occasional patrols.

[Winterharborway]

So I'm here and there are no eagles... Yet will drive around a bit and will come back. Wish me luck!!

[Winterharborway]

Just came back and anchored our boat to walk around the island. Looked up and there it was! I only have my camera phone so no good picture. Was great to see!! Thanks for the tips on where to look!

[First Mate]

We boated to Blueberry/Minister Island this past Monday to look for eagles, happily in no time we spotted one perched near the top of a tree. Glad to see it!

[icg56]

Cloudy day 3-21-2015 with the Blueberry eagles. Male is smaller one on the right, female on the left. Discussing family planning (moments before). Picture quality not great, but the start of the 2015 breeding season.

[Airedale1]

Any recent Eagle sightings on Blueberry a.k.a. Minister Island? I would like to get out there and get some pictures this weekend.

[kbh]

They are pretty much always there, the nest is very high up in one of the pines, look close at the top of the pines viewing from the North side of the island and you will see the nest. I have seen at least one of the eagles in the nest every time I have been by there so far this season...

[kbh]

It's hard to get close as the water is very shallow, bring a good zoom lens. I'd love to see your pics if you get some good ones...

[Airedale1]

Originally Posted by kbh

It's hard to get close as the water is very shallow, bring a good zoom lens. I'd love to see your pics if you get some good ones...

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I don't think I should have a problem navigating the shallows as my boat (Boston Whaler Montauk 17') does not draft much water.

If I have any luck I will post the images. I do have a decent zoom lens, it's a Canon 400 f/5.6L.

Is it a mated pair there? Are they nesting? Again, thanks for the info.

[icg56]

The nest this year is slightly different location than prior years. They are in the center of the island, high up in one of the pine trees. Prior years nests fell down early so perhaps they are learning from past experience. Adults when not in nest are often seen watching from the edges of Hull Island in the high pines.

[icg56]

This year's eagle getting resady to fly.