Blog de Puree

It’s almost that time of year, when the environs of Amesbury, Salisbury, Newburyport, and Plum Island are inundated by bird watchers, eagle lovers and curiosity seekers for the Merrimac River Eagle Festival.

To make things more exciting, this weekend also marks the Great Backyard Bird Count. I’ll be posting about the GBBC all weekend, but here are some important deets about the Eagle Festival.

To start, we live in a unique area in the lower Merrimac River valley where American Bald Eagles come to breed and spend the winter months. And at times, more interesting than the eagles, are the crazy eagle watchers by the dozens that crowd and hang off the local bridges over the river attempting to get that perfect bird photo. The Chain Bridge is literally festooned with photographers with lenses so long they would make Ron Jeremy blush.

Every year, the Mass Audubon Society at Joppa Flats and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge hold an annual day when people can participate in outdoor and indoor activities to learn more about America’s national bird and the habitats that we share with them. Activities include:

• Eagle-spotting locations along the Merrimack with on-site interpreters
• Bus tours guided by expert birders starting in downtown Newburyport
• Live eagle demonstrations at Newburyport’s City Hall
• Nature fun for the whole family at Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters

For more information, please contact Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center, 978-462-9998 or joppaflats@massaudubon.org.