The Nature of Things

Another view of the Hudson

February

Tired of your same old view of the Hudson River? Need a change from Croton Point Park, Little Stony Point or the Rockland shore? Try Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park in Dutchess County.

Admittedly, it’s a bit of a drive from Westchester, Putnam or Rockland. It’s about 20 minutes north of Poughkeepsie. But the park is also within 5 minutes of the Vanderbilt Mansion and FDR’s home – so you history buffs could make a day of it.

I checked the place out yesterday with my daughter. With snow on the ground, we didn’t do much. But it does provide a nice, warming south-facing view of the Hudson. The property is also home to the headquarters for the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Plus, it provided some easy, quick bald eagle spotting. Within 30 minutes, practically at midday, we racked up five or six eagles – some mature, some immature. One adult was even close enough on an ice floe that my daughter could easily spot the bird with just her eyes. This guy (or girl) was holding down a fish with its right foot and trying to rip it apart. As he flew off, the fish appeared to be an eel as it twisted about in the eagle’s right talon.

My daughter eventually caught the hang of peering through the spotting scope. I knew she had because every time an immature eagle I hoped she was watching on an ice floe hopped or spread his wings, she would exclaim a little something about the maneuver.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 1:46 pm by Mike Risinit.
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