SamPratt.com

Amtraky Amtrakovich

Monster

Buds

Main Street, Great Barrington (MA).

Eagle update

Peter Jung reports that the injured bald eagle which he helped rescue in March will be returned into the wild soon; he hopes to attend and get some video of the event.

The rescue took place near Schodack Landing, but DEC experts and consultants have records indicating that he came from the Adirondacks, and thus plan to re-release him there. They suspect injuries to his wing may have come from fighting with other male bald eagles in our area, whose mates he may have been pursuing.

Tough guy

Hudson born and bred.

Eff you, penguin

Somehow I missed this site all these years.

Snake in the grass

Literally. This morning, 10 am. I wonder what other figures of speech will jump to life today... (I'll be avoiding china shops.)

The Eagle Adventure

Columbia County activist, art dealer and musician Peter Jung shares this remarkable story of a bald eagle rescue along the Hudson River, on the foulest weather day of the year:

On the way back from Albany Monday evening, I came upon a wounded bald eagle in the ditch along Route 9J south of Schodack Landing.

The bird seemed to be struggling with an injured wing. It was nearly dark, and the eagle then jumped off a steep ledge at the River’s edge and disappeared. I marked the spot and arranged to meet two DEC staffers on Tuesday, along the high bluffs.

I was 90% sure that we wouldn’t find anything upon returning to the spot on the ledge that I’d marked. But after standing there for a few minutes, we spotted the big bird in a tree about 50 feet below us.

Our presence caused the eagle to jump out of the tree and have a very awkward landing. Then it began to scramble down the bank toward the railroad tracks.

There was no way for the three of us to descend over the cliff, but fortunately we had two vehicles and three cell phones, so one person stayed up on the ledge to keep track of the bird while the other two of us drove off north and south to try and find a point of river access.

I located a spot where we could make the descent, but it was half a mile south of the eagle’s location. After scrambling down the bank, we had a long walk north along the tracks in 30 mph winds with freezing rain hitting us in the face and trains passing at frightening speeds. Pretty soon I was frozen stiff, and wondering if we might perish and end up in an unfortunate local newspaper obituary (not my preferred way to go).

By the time we caught up with the eagle it was perched on the railroad tracks, and we were concerned that it would be struck by a train. After we managed to scare it off the tracks, it took refuge in a nearby pond. Eagles don’t swim well, but the bird managed to climb up on a dead tree and there it sat for about 10 minutes. Finally, it moved off the tree back onto dry land; but every time we approached it would get back in the water.

After a few trips back-and-forth across the pond, the bird was so tired that we were able to throw a coat over it.

When you turn an eagle on its back and cover its head, it becomes completely submissive, so it didn’t struggle anymore. Eagles have really serious talons, and I was amazed to see them up close.

We then had to march back the half-mile along the tracks and climb up a steep muddy 100-ft. bank to our vehicles. One of the DEC folks carried the wrapped-up bird on his lap while the other drove. I came home, threw all my clothes into the washer, took a bath, and got under the covers to thaw out.

The DEC folks called to report that the eagle was delivered to a vet in the Albany area who works with them on injured raptors. They did an X-ray, and apparently there are no broken bones—just flesh wounds—so the prognosis for recovery is good. The eagle will probably get released back into the same area in a couple of months or so; I hope to be there for that event. The bird had bands on both legs, so they have a complete history on the eagle. The State knows most of these birds (and where they live) extremely well.

The entire time, I was so focused on the rescue that I forgot I had a cell phone in my pocket capable of shooting photos, and even some video... But the weather was so nasty it's not clear if the results would have been worthwhile. This was the worst day of the year to get involved with something like this. Once the bird is stabilized I plan to go up for a visit, and will take some photos.

PETER JUNG
Hudson

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NOTE: For more info from the New York State Department of Conservation on bald eagles, click here.

Spring Garden

Fairview Avenue, Greenport (NY).

Foxy

Screen shot, Taghkanic (NY).

Mastodons in the Valley

Image: Ephemeral New York

Who knew?

Tuesday, February 9: Charles Willson Peale, Mastodons and Museums: A Legacy for Orange County.

In 1801, Charles Willson Peale, famous artist and naturalist, exhumed the first complete set of prehistoric bones in recorded history, right here in OrangeCounty, NY. He found a mastodon (the elephant’s ancestor). The discovery had a profound influence on the scientific enlightenment and developed the theory of extinction. Join Joe Devine, local historian from Montgomery, NY, Tom Lake, SUNY archaeologist, and Evan Galbraith, who will share his vision of a Peale Museum of Discovery, as they discuss this fascinating part our heritage and why, since Peale’s discovery, more mastodons per square mile have been found in Orange County than anywhere else on earth.

Of the Valley’s Mastodon giganteus (later renamed Mastodon americanus) John Collins Warren wrote in 1852:

“Language is insufficient to give an idea of the grandeur of this skeleton as a whole. Standing as it does in the midst of those of various large animals—the horse, the cow, &c., and towering above them, its massive limbs make them sink into insignificance. Even the elephant, although nearly as tall, has a frame which might be called delicate when compared with that of the Mastodon.”

NOTE: Some political observers disagree that mastodons ever became extinct in the region. ... More info on C.W. Peale can be found here; more on mastodons in New York here. Below: Peale's painting, dated 1805-08, entitled Exhumation of the Mastodon:

Bearcat