Newburyport —
Bald eagles know a good thing when they see it. Each year around November, they begin to head south to the Newburyport area. They stick around for the winter, enjoying the open water, relative warmth and abundant fishing at the mouth of the Merrimack.
And for five years now, residents and eager visitors have been able to celebrate the national symbol when the Newburyport region has hosted the Merrimack River Eagle Festival.
The festival, held this year on Feb. 13, drew record numbers: more than 1,600 people flocked to the city environs in the hope of catching a glimpse of these majestic birds. There were opportunities to see the raptors in the wild, eagle demonstrations at city hall, and crowds of eager birdwatchers scanning the skies for signs of eagles.
The “weather was gorgeous,” and many lucky attendees were able to see multiple eagles, including five at one time at Cashman Park, said Melissa Vokey, of the Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center, which partnered with the Parker River Wildlife Refuge to put on the festival.
Vokey said bald eagles have rebounded in recent years. They’ve come a long way from the time when they were endangered and were reeling from the effects of DDT and water pollution that decimated fish populations. A cleaner Merrimack River is home to more fish for the eagles to hunt.
Tall white pines along the river beckon to the eagles, too. There were no breeding bald eagles in the area in recent memory until 2005, when one intrepid eagle couple decided to stay here after winter ended. They built a nest and produced chicks. Now the area is home to two breeding nests, Vokey said.
As the bald eagle population has rebounded, the Merrimack River Eagle Festival has grown, too.
“The first year we had the festival, they were still endangered,” said Vokey. “They have come back really well.
“It’s a really nice indication that we are taking better care of our environment, that we are paying attention to it and that we understand biodiversity is better for everyone,” she said. “It’s about balancing, … letting nature balance itself.”
If you weren’t able to catch sight of an eagle Saturday, there could be opportunities for that in your future. Vokey expects the crowd-pleasers to be around until March or April. It’s not unusual to see one of the big birds while just going about daily life in the Newburyport area.
In fact, Vokey admitted to being pleasantly surprised to spy two adult eagles “just drifting down on an ice floe,” as she returned to the Joppa Flats Center at the end of the festival weekend.
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