Forget Groundhogs, Here’s Real Proof Spring Nears in Utica Rome

Forget furry rodents who poke their head out once a year to predict when spring is coming to Utica Rome. Here is proof positive warmer temps are near for Central New York.

Over the past few weeks our wildlife photographer, William Straite has been sharing photos of Central New York Eagles battling for food. Often as many as 50 of the Raptors could be seen in one place, especially along the Black River, as food sources grew scarce with snow cover and frozen waters. Then one day, they were gone.

They left one afternoon and not a 1 came back to any of the locations that I use for shooting feeding frenzies.

William has at least four locations where he shoots pics of the Eagles at feeding time. After spending more than twenty hours traveling and scouting his usual spots and not finding anyone home, William donned the camo and started checking the birds' usual nesting places.

spent hours watching her while I was quite a ways back and wearing camo.

Sure enough and much earlier than usual, the Eagles have hit their nests and started laying eggs. This is a precarious time for the mighty birds, any intrusion from humans will cause them to not only abandon their nests, but the eggs as well. State and federal laws are in place to protect them, any disturbance can be met with heavy fines. From a safe distance, using his zoom lens, William was able to capture a mother laying two eggs and preparing for the long awaited birth of Eaglets.

As goes the world, with a new chapter about to begin, another chapter closes. With spring nearing we have to say goodbye to our visitor the Arctic Snowy Owl. But before he returns to the colder climates in the north, William captures some stunning photos of the creature at sunrise.