If you believe in good omens, then this is for you...

[ARPad95]

1. Nearly 100 AMERICAN Bald Eagles are wintering on Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, NY (in sub-zero temps at times):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/baldeaglesofonondagalake/

2. Onondaga Lake just happens to be the birthplace of DEMOCRACY:

https://www.onondaganation.org/history/

3. The Bald Eagles come to Onondaga Lake because the SEWAGE TREATMENT plant's warm discharge keeps the lake from freezing over in that spot and the Bald Eagles can hunt for fish, their primary FOOD.


Here's an awesome vlog from a man who filmed his experience at Onondaga Lake a couple of weeks ago:

[cilla4progress]

1. Love it -

thanks!

[Walleye]

2. I remember the eagles circling over Biden when he was giving a campaign speech

I think it was in Denver, I took it as a good omen

[ARPad95]

8. Omens 5 & 6:President Biden earned a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968...

and had married his first wife, Neilia Hunter, a student at Syracuse University, in 1966. Per a name origin site, Neilia is Irish and means 'champion'.

[wnylib]

29. Nellie is also a nickname for

Helen (Greek) and Eleanor (French version of Helen) and Ellen (English shortened form of Eleanor or variant of Helen).

[csziggy]

11. Same for when I was working the 2008 Obama campaign and an eagle showed up here

Outside my window as I was making campaign calls and directing my team.

As indicated in some posts below, the eagle was scavenging a fox carcass and had to chase off vultures to pick at it. But it was amazing to see it - we've had this farm since 1978 and that was the only time I have ever seen an eagle here! A good omen indeed.

[Walleye]

22. Very cool experience. Obviously memorable

[ARPad95]

23. Thank you for sharing your amazing personal experience, csziggy!

[2naSalit]

3. Actually...

Fish is not the only food bald eagles eat. They are opportunists and will eat what is available as long as it's made out of meat. Fish is about 3/4 of their diet on average so you are unlikely to see them nesting far from water with fish. Just watch out for small pets and other animals if you have them nesting near you.

[ARPad95]

4. Thank you! I corrected it to read primary food.

[2naSalit]

5. Good move.

[mopinko]

6. eagles are actually pretty good scavengers.

they've proliferated in my home town, and all along the fox river in northern il.
like these guys, there are sewage outflows. but there are also highways along both sides of the river, so they get road kill, too.
first time i ever saw a bunch of them was on prince edward island, where they were hanging by the fishing boats and processing sheds. like giant seagulls.

[twodogsbarking]

13. Recently saw two on the side of the road ripping apart road kill.

Happy as could be.

[Sanity Claws]

7. A bald eagle in NY's Central Park too

He was visiting from his usual spot in Brooklyn. https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/new-yorkers-rover-bald-eagle-central-park-nyc

There is a nesting pair of bald eagles in the Bronx along the Hudson River.

I know the opening post is about the eagle being an omen. I just revel in the resurgence of these majestic birds.

[ARPad95]

9. Yes, any and all stories about the bald eagle's resurgence anywhere are welcomed!

Some guy on the FB group page seems to think if there's no specific law against being within 330 feet of non-actively nesting bald eagles, he should be allowed closer access because he loves them and wants to protect them. Also, the bald eagle is not on the endangered species list anymore so...

https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7068.html

The Loss of New York's Bald Eagles

During the 1800s and early 1900s, New York was home to more than 70 nesting pairs of bald eagles, and was the chosen wintering grounds of several hundred. By 1960, the state had only one known active bald eagle nest remaining, and the number of wintering visitors had been reduced to less than a few dozen.

On the bright side, the eagles didn't seem the least bit affected by the loud and long trains that go by their roosting trees along the lake when my husband and I observed them (from a proper distance) yesterday.

[patphil]

14. There are bald eagles that winter on Iona Island in the Hudson River near Bear Mountain.

[James48]

10. I've got a family

Of bald eagles in my neighborhood in northern Michigan. Four members of the family this year- two Younger’s and two adults. They are soooo beautiful. Bald eagles have been doing great the last couple of years here. A friend has a dozen near her around Bay City, Mi

[patphil]

12. Our founding fathers used some principles from the Iroquois Confederacy for our Constitution.

https://www.history.com/news/iroquois-confederacy-influence-us-constitution

[ARPad95]

15. Thank you for sharing the link, patphil! The "People of the long house" refer to themselves as

the Haudenosaunee Confederacy:

https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/

[patphil]

17. And thank you for giving us the correct name.

[ARPad95]

18. OMG! Another good omen...

https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/

The confederacy was founded by the prophet known as the Peacemaker with the help of Aionwatha, more commonly known as Hiawatha.

The sewage treatment plant that is so important to the Bald Eagles (as well as other birds of prey and water fowl) wintering on Onondaga Lake is located on HIAWATHA Boulevard.

Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant
Address: 650 Hiawatha Blvd W, Syracuse, NY 13204

[wnylib]

30. And they were the first Republic in North America,

thus the seat of American democracy.

[JanMichael]

16. Ben Franklin would weep. The carrion gulping Eagle over the regal Turkey which are mass murdered...

...every Thanksgiving to celebrate annihilating the Native Tribes.

Interesting what he thought about the Bald Eagle..."Franklin wrote that the “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”

About the turkey, Franklin wrote that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.”"

https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/franklin-national-bird#:~:text=The%20story%20about%20Benjamin%20Franklin,looked%20more%20like%20a%20turkey.

wheee!

[ARPad95]

20. Reminder: Benjamin Franklin was a white man of European descent

https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/02/letter-writers_describe_awe_at.html

For the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), the eagle represents the guardian of the Great Law of Peace — the code that forged that great league of nations. The image of the eagle is often depicted hovering over the Great Tree of Peace in cultural arts. History reports that the confederacy was formed under the Great Tree of Peace along the shores of Onondaga (Gannentaha) Lake. It would seem that the eagle’s presence on the lake is an earned and rightful legacy.

[wnylib]

31. Thank you for posting this.

I am not an enrolled member, but am proud to be a descendant of the Onodowaga (Seneca) Nation.

[EarthFirst]

19. We have several resident mating pairs SW of Rochester...

I see them frequently when fly fishing a trout stream local to where I live.

I’ve had several take low approaches along the creek in search of their next meal; once even witnessing a large male take a 16” brown trout from the surface of the water and rise above the tree line off into the distance.

Amazing.

I may have to take a drive out to Syracuse here soon.

[findeerror]

21. Minnesota - Another great place to see eagles in action

Great link, thanks!!

There's a similar area on the Mississippi at Red Wing, MN where a small regional power plant's warm water discharge clears the ice. From January-March there is typically a good sized group of bald eagles taking advantage of the open water to fish. Often, birdwatchers will bring their scopes and let people look through them for a close up view.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/eagles/winter_redwing.html

We see them pretty routinely now, even within the Minneapolis city limits... It's encouraging to see the population growing!

[Meadowoak]

24. Maybe I'm a glass half empty kinda guy, but what sticks out to me,

The birthplace of democracy is now home to a sewerage treatment plant. Who planned that out?

[ARPad95]

32. Look at it this way...

tRumpism = DIGO (democracy in, garbage out)
Sewage treatment plant = GIDO (garbage in, democracy out)

How's that analogy?

[malaise]

25. Omen for four years of evil

[ARPad95]

26. That Bald Eagle could see right through the tRump!

Bald Eagles have very keen eyesight after all. Plus a very smart bird!

[malaise]

28. Yep

Love your video

[ARPad95]

34. Thank you! I've had several things happen in the last few weeks that were huh? moments and

they seemed to culminate this weekend. Then seeing this video today... Wow, I get the whole picture now! IMO, GOOD THINGS are happening and more to come!

[wryter2000]

33. Holy cow

I lived in Syracuse for a couple of years. I didn't know bald eagles hung out at the lake.

[ARPad95]

35. I think it's only been in the last decade that they started to come back.

When did you live here? I've been here all my life.

[wryter2000]

36. I went to SU in the 60's

And remained a while after I dropped out. I much prefer the climate in Oakland. But I acquired my love of soul music in Syracuse, and I'll always be grateful for that.

[ARPad95]

37. I completely understand your preference for a warmer climate. I need the 4 seasons so I'm staying

put for a bit longer.

I was just a little kid in the 1960s so you got a head start on me with appreciating good soul music.

[MyOwnPeace]

38. Pittsburgh is into eagles too......

There is a pair that has been nesting 5 miles outside of Pittsburgh (on the Monongahela River) since 2013 and have a loyal following. Two more in Harmarville (on the Allegheny River), as well as other nests at a steel mill and a county park. Cleaner rivers have helped this growth in eagle population.
We don't have enough to have 'fights for food' - but it could be in our future......
Here's a 'cam' site - fun to watch!

https://pixcams.com/hays-bald-eagle-nest/