Bald Eagle Spotted Near Waterfront Jeep

Bird appeared to be fishing in Mon River

Morgantown Dominion Post
3 February 2014
By Kathy Plum

Record cold may be the reason Bob Anderson and his co-workers at Waterfront Jeep were able to watch a bald eagle last week.

They had seen an eagle flying in the area over the Monongahela River occasionally for two to three years, said Anderson, who is the finance manager at the dealership.

“This one looked like it was trying to catch fish,” Anderson said.

That could be the case, said Sue Olcott, wildlife biologist with the State Wildlife Diversity Program.

“This winter, everything up north froze solid,” she noted. That included waterways. Eagles need running water to fish, she said, and as many human anglers can attest, near a dam is a good fishing spot.

So it makes sense that the eagle Anderson saw was fishing.

Bald eagles aren’t uncommon to this part of West Virginia. Olcott said there is a 5- or 6-year-old nest in Pa., just north of Cheat Lake.

There have been other nesting attempts documented along the Mon and Tygart rivers, and Tygart Lake is home to a 5-year-old nest.

Anderson took photos with a camera that the dealership uses. He estimated the majestic bird was no more than 100 yards away when he snapped them.