| In this Section: | | | In the Spotlight | | News | |
List of "In the Spotlight" Features
3rd Annual Bald Eagle Boat Cruise
|
For the 3rd straight year, Newark, NJ Public Schools brought 150 teachers and students who participate in Signals of Spring to see wintering bald eagles in their natural habitat! Connecticut Audubon EcoTravel once again ran the Connecticut River cruise where there were 60 sightings of bald eagles.
It was one of the coldest days of the season in middle February, when three buses left Newark at 7am, and first headed to the Birdcraft Museum in Fairfield, CT. A scavenger hunt on a snowy path, as well as a tour through the Birdcraft Museum were the highlights. Students learned about birds of prey, and sandhill crane, which are tracked and studied in Signals of Spring.
At the next stop, students and teachers boarded the boat in Essex, CT, and the took the 2.5 hour tour. This year for the first time in the three years of the trip, the river was jammed with ice several miles up the river, but where the ice wasn't, the bald eagles were! The eagles have an open source for food with the open waters of the river. The open space along the river is a great living space for them to feed in winter before they go north to breed.
"This trip is a great opportunity to get out and see bald eagles in their natural environments. We learn about the habitats in the classroom, but nothing is better than seeing the birds along the river first hand," reports Desiree Jones, Science Teacher from the Gladys Hillman Jones Middle School
|