I went to Dighton Rock State Park today after the weather had cleared from light rain and mist to nearly clear skies. Located next to the Taunton River in Berkley, MA, the park is home to multiple hiking trails and wildlife, including over 100 species of birds. Recently, a single Steller’s sea eagle was spotted there, far out of its natural range.
Normally, the eagle’s range includes northeastern Asia and Alaska. So why is there one next to the Taunton River, over 3,000 miles away from its natural range? Maybe it was blown off course in a storm; maybe it is seeking to expand the species’ range. Maybe it was magic. OK, scratch that last one.
Regardless of the reasons, I set off to find it today at the state park. I’ve never been to Berkley, and I’ve never been to the park, but the thought of seeing this rare and errant bird thrilled me. So off to southeastern Massachusetts I went. After a couple of days of mild temperatures I was woefully underdressed, and it was COLD, with a stiff breeze by the river.
At the park, there were several people gathered at the water’s edge. Each person had binoculars, and there were several spotting scopes in the group. There were seals, gulls and a lone bufflehead within viewing range, and it was good to see them. I spent some time talking to the others about their experience seeing the eagle, but no one had seen it today. In fact, a Channel 5/WCVB (@wcvb5) van was parked in the lot in case the eagle showed up. I took photos of the “god light” coming though the clouds, the gulls flying in-place facing into the wind, and the beautiful golden light before sunset. But no sightings or photos of the Steller’s eagle.
After over an hour of waiting, the sun finally slipped below the cloud bank on the horizon, but not before I took this shot of the reeds by the Taunton River. Maybe there was no eagle, but the beauty of the place still made its mark on me. I’ll be back.
Reeds by the Taunton River at Sunset. Copyright 2021, Neal Skorka.