By MADDY VITALE
Sea Isle City is abuzz over a majestic visitor perched high above the causeway entering town.
It is a bald eagle that is generating a lot of excitement on social media.
You might say the eagle – possibly the same one frequently spotted on the towering utility poles lining Sea Isle Boulevard last spring – has taken a liking to the marshlands to hunt.
Some passersby have snapped photos of the eagle with its piercing eyes and eight-foot wingspan.
Dodie Reagan Corretini can be credited for capturing some closeup pictures of the eagle that she posted on SIC Chatter, a Facebook forum for Sea Isle residents and visitors.
Here is what some of the SIC Chatter members had to say about the bird of prey:
Sue Thomas: “Great pictures, thanks for sharing.”
Marianne Lombardi, “Good sign for tonight’s football game.”
Denise Davis Triboletti was surprised by the clarity of the photos and asked, “Were these captured using a drone?”
“No. I pulled off on Sea Isle Blvd and took them from my car. This eagle will fly off if you get out of the car. The presence of a parked car even spooks him,” Corretini replied.
Once on the brink of extinction in the contiguous United States, bald eagles have since made a miraculous comeback. They are thriving in New Jersey, among other states, explained Devin Griffiths, marketing director for the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor.
Griffiths is an avid birder and discussed why the eagle is there, if the raptor has come back months after it first appeared in Sea Isle last spring, or if it is another bird taking up temporary residence.
The osprey, a raptor also known as a “fish hawk,” may have something to do with the disappearance of an eagle last spring and the return of one in the same coastal area.
“They are more common in the winter down here in the marshes, partially because the osprey are incredibly territorial birds and don’t tolerant eagles,” he explained. “The thing with eagles and ospreys is that they are hunting for the same type of food. Ospreys will aggressively chase off the eagles and when they leave, the eagles will be here in the winter.”
He added that eagles will not likely be found nesting in the coastal areas. They prefer forests and will often remain in the same nest for years.
“Some nests have weighed over 100 pounds. They just keep adding to it,” Griffiths said.
Another piece of information on the eagle, he said, is that they can be solitary birds, but just because folks only see one atop the utility poles on Sea Isle Boulevard doesn’t mean there isn’t another one close by.
And when determining a male from a female, the males are smaller than the females, he said.
No matter which eagle is being spotted on the boulevard — the one seen last spring or a new one — Griffiths said eagles are always a welcome part of nature that should be cherished and respected.
“They are stunning birds,” he noted.
