At the lake Chaubunagungamaug in Webster, Massachusetts, it was a bright and sunny summer day when the sky was clear. I saw a pair of eagles flying high above us as we were playing a spirited game of cribbage. We were moored in a peaceful cove since we were playing the game. One might almost say that they were engaging in a game of tag. After then, all of a sudden, one of the eagles went straight down into the water and came back up with a large fish in its beak. he flew to a large bushy pine tree nearby to savor his new catch. During the summer, many of us have come to anticipate these unique lake moments, which are a source of great excitement for us. each spring at least one pair of bald eagles return to nest here, on one of the lake’s numerous little islands. webster lake, the other more “speaker friendly” moniker, is situated in the corners of connecticut and rhode island and has a surface size of 1,442 acres. the lake’s original name derives from nipmuc, an algonquian language and is commonly supposed to mean “you fish on your side, I fish on my side and no one fish in the middle.”. alternative translation according to anthropologist ives goddard, is “lake split by islands”. Considering the size of webster lake, people refer to its’ three linked bodies of water as north, middle and south ponds. webster lake also goes by an even longer, 45-letter alternate name, “lake chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg” that was supposed to be invented around 1921. it is commonly recognized as the longest place name in the united states and one of the longest in the world! many of our long-time local neighbors are happy to roll the overblown name off of their tongues with ease and grace. I am still working on it. now there are an estimated 7,066 nesting pairs of bald eagles, according to us wildlife specialists. an eagle may live up to 30 years in the wild, with many decades to have progeny. their nests or aerie, are situated high in huge, robust trees near rivers, beaches or on lakes. the nest form might be cylindrical, disk, bowl or inverted cone depending on which branch point it’s created. generally, the nest is around five feet in diameter. a nesting couple typically return to utilize the same nest year after year. while doing so, they tend to fortify the nest construction, since severe winds or storms typically take a toll. as you can guess, over time the nest may become as enormous as nine feet in diameter, weighing approximately two tons! eagles have also been known to establish a second nest nearby if they feel threatened. in webster lake our couple had a big nest on a single resident island in south pond and another smaller (newer) nest on an island in middle pond. eagles lay one to three speckled, off-white colored eggs around goose egg size, one day at a period. in our new england location egg laying begins in late march. then it needs 35 days of incubation activities shared by both parents. the female spends the most time on the nest, not just keeping the eggs warm, but to guard against intruders such as squirrels, ravens and gulls that will devour the eggs. Surprisingly, the male usually delivers green sprigs of fresh fir branches to the nest throughout the incubation period. to now specialists have not discovered why, other than to maybe deodorize the nest or give shade for the eaglets. the cycle from the time parents construct the nest to when the young are on their own is roughly 20 weeks. the parents stay within one to two kilometers of their nest throughout this cycle. human disturbance may have a harmful influence on the bald eagle, since most demand peace and quiet to mate and rear their young. the webster lake association (wla) has a home camera on the nest of our local couple. from the comfort of his home, a wla member monitors and routinely updates the eagles’ numerous activities in a newsletter. those of us out on the water in our boats and kayaks love viewing the eagles and letting the wla know of their presence. we even have a fun contest each spring to name the baby eaglet(s), with independence, george and martha and liberty being a few of the most recent victors. last spring one of our eaglets was damaged during the banding procedure. the year before one of the young fell out of the nest and had to be rescued. both eaglets survived, however last summer our nesting adult pair left their large, original nest and were repeatedly spotted in middle pond by their smaller nest, likely a result of these traumatic experiences. it is predicted they will relocate there to safely raise their young next spring. we shall see. Gregory James is a veteran of the United States Army, a father of six children, and a nature enthusiast who has been a longtime fan of the outdoors. Because of his affinity for the natural world, he has launched a website that sells supplies for camping cookery. The address of his website is http://www.campingcookwarepro.com where you may find it.
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