Bald Eagles, Coyotes Returning to North Shore

by Niall Fitzgerald

A rash of recent sightings of bald eagles and coyotes across the north shore confirm what had been long expected: these apex predator animals have returned to the north shore.

Bald eagles began nesting in Centerport several years ago, building a huge nest over Spring Pond off the Mill Dam Pond just north of 25A Northern Boulevard.

This past spring, wildlife conservationists installed a spy camera to monitor the nest, with a live stream feed to YouTube. The bald eagles hatched three new eaglets in 2021, all of which are now flying themselves. The live stream can be viewed at www.BaldEaglesofCenterport.com.

"I was very happy to see a young Bald Eagle hunting over Mill Pond back pond," stated Richard Sutton of West Shore. "We may have a nest in Huntington soon..."

"My neighbor spotted one over Coindre Hall..." added Mary Blasy.

Although Bald Eagles are beautiful, they can hunt and kill small pets, including small dogs, cats and chickens.

Coyotes have been fleetingly sighted moving into the area from both east and west for years. A coyote was caught on a security camera in Roslyn in 2019, and hikers have reported coyotes in Caumsett Park in Lloyd Harbor.

Now local naturalists have confirmed that a den with seven coyote pups has been located in Roslyn. They are keeping the location a secret, but provided a photo of one of the adult coyotes.

Coyotes are a problematic species, with dozens of coyote attacks on humans - often small children - occurring across the United States every year. Just last week, a coyote attacked a child in Connecticut. The child's dog charged in and saved the child, but was then badly bitten by the coyote.