For several years now I have taken part in the midwinter bald eagle survey, hosted by Vermont Audubon. I have had the same route each time–the Winooski River from Waterbury to Lake Champlain. There are over a dozen spots along the river I can stop and scan for eagles, and of course I scan for them from the car when I can. I did see eagle this year, soaring over the river in Jonesville. Along the way I took photos of the river, so here is my 2025 Winooski River portrait.
Yesterday I volunteered to look for eagles for Vermont Audubon’s annual eagle survey. My route is the Winooski River, from Waterbury to Lake Champlain. I did see two Bald Eagles, one immature in Williston and one fully mature in Essex. There have been years when I have seen none, so this was a success. It was cold, in the twenties, with a light wind, and a recent coating of snow. I saw some remnants of flooding this fall–plastic jugs half full of oil, lots of branches and leaves, even a complete futon frame. There were a couple of locations I could not go to, closed due to flooding damage, but mostly I had a full survey. Along the way I took a portrait of the river.
Yesterday I participated in the annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey. My route was the Winooski River, from Waterbury to Lake Champlain. I have surveyed this route several years now. While I did not see even one eagle, I did get to see the river in winter.
Last year the day was warm and there was much less ice. Yesterday I started with single-digit temperatures. By the time I was finished in the early afternoon the temperature was considering hitting 20, but had not yet decided.
Here is my portrait of the Winooski River for January 2022.
I took part in the mid-winter Bald Eagle survey today. Yesterday was the target day, but I have been out of commission with a cold for a week. I tried to go into work on Wednesday, but I left early. I felt like garbage. I stayed out the next two days. Today, finally, I felt OK. Yesterday I was on the mend but I am glad I rested.
I saw zero Bald Eagles. There were not a lot of birds out in general. The day started at -6º Fahrenheit. It got as low as -9º. It was 11:00 before I saw the thermometer rise into positive territory. Our high was 13º. I guess the eagles were not interested in the cold. As I have the past two years, I took photos along the way. Here is my Winooski River portrait for this cold day.
Yesterday I participated in the Winter Bald Eagle Survey. My route was the Winooski River, from Waterbury to Lake Champlain. While I did not see any eagles, I got to see the river in its winter splendor. It was cold. The day started at 3 below zero and got all the way up to 6 degrees. Here is the Winooski River as I saw it yesterday.
Just after sunrise in Waterbury
Winooski Street Bridge, Waterbury
Deforge Hyrdoelectric Dam. Note the ice after high water earlier in the week.
From the Long Trail access point, Duxbury
Long Trail footbridge
From Jonesville bridge
Warren and Ruth Beeken Rivershore Preserve
Town park, Richmond
Near Fontaine Canoe Access, Williston
Overlook Park, Williston
Woodside Park, Colchester. The river is under all that ice.
Winooski River Walk, Winooski
Winooski, Vermont
Flooded fields at Ethan Allen Homestead
From the bike path bridge as the Winooski River ends at Lake Champlain
The Pink Tractor Makes its Annual Appearance
My family and I went to the tractor parade in Charlotte yesterday. Â It was the 10th annual event, held on the tenth day of the tenth month. Â It delivered, as usual, even if it did start more than an hour after the start time. Â But so it is.
I did not have a good spot to stand this time. We dithered a bit before things got started so, while the children were right up there next to the road, I stood behind some chairs that someone had set up and left empty the whole time. Â I had a really tall guy uphill from me, in the direction the tractors were coming from. Plus, there were just simply people all around. So I changed my focus. Instead of taking pictures of the tractors, I took pictures of the people driving the tractors. Here is a gallery of some of those portraits.
Mercury on the Move 