Vito & Linda Settle Down, Hatch Lots in New York Landfill

The mighty bald eagle, which had not been seen in Gotham for about a hundred years, has found purchase on Staten Island, where at least four adults and a dozen offspring now call home.

“Ten years ago, I think people would be shocked to hear there were bald eagles nesting in New York City — it sounds like the most unlikely place in the world,” Richard Veit, NYC Audubon director, tells the New York Post. “Bald eagles are generally regarded as these wild creatures that are only in wilderness areas, and to have them here is a real eye-opener … It’s a dramatic event.”

A pair of eagles – dubbed Vito and Linda by the local birders – arrived here in 2015 and nested in a pine tree on the seaside bluffs of Pleasant Plains. They are believed to have generated at least 11 hatchlings since then. Last year another breeding pair renovated an abandoned owl’s nest at Brookfield Park, site of a former landfill.

One big reason for the eagle’s comeback is that the toxic pesticide DDT has been banned in the US since 1972 (thank you, Rachel Carson). “Populations declined steeply because of DDT exposure, which made their eggshells really thin, so the females would crush the eggs and then they wouldn’t have successful reproductive years,” explains Rutgers University ecologist José Ramírez-Garofalo.

Another pivotal event from 1972 was the establishment of the Clean Water Act, which has gone a long way to improve the water quality in the Hudson estuary. Clean water means healthy fish, the primary diet of bald eagles, although these urban raptors are known to also nosh on the occasional rat. 

The Staten Island eagles are back because of sound environmental policy. Bald eagles have also been seen soaring over the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, which is not great news for the fish (or rats), but a delight for the rest of us.

Photo credit: Teresa Mastoros / @photography_by_teresamarie