Conowingo Eagles/ Planning Info

With the eagles starting to return to the Susquehanna River near the Conowingo Dam in Maryland, I wanted to share some information that is interesting to know when trying to decide whether the next day is a good day to make the trip.

Since some, like me, travel at least a couple of hours each way, laying the odds for a successful photo day is always a good idea.

Flight and feeding activity picks up markedly whenever the dam goes into power generation mode, with a release of water downstream. When the lights and sirens go off to warn fishermen of rising water, it's like the dinner bell for eagles perching nearby. :)

Each day around 5 p.m. Eastern time, the power utility records a telephone message with the schedule of the next day's generation cycles. While the information is somewhat general, and subject to change, it at least lends a broad picture of what the power releases may be.

The number to call is: 1-888-457-4076. Again, the recording is updated each day around 5 p.m. with the following day's schedule.

I find this information very useful, along with the weather forecast, when considering a trip to Conowingo. If they're generating a lot of power, odds are any birds there will be active.

Hope to see some of you there this fall and winter!

Thanks for the info Bill!

wow, did not know this. thans for sharing. been wanting to make a trip down the last three years and something has always seemed to get in the way. Thanks again.

That's fantastic to know, thank you so much. I have been wondering how they schedule their generators.
I am planning to make a trip on Sat Nov 14th (maybe Friday too, but I am not sure how I feel about Friday the 13th!).

Thanks a million Bill!

I live on Maryland's eastern shore, and the drive to the Conowingo Dam from my home to photograph the eagles has always been an iffy proposition, considering the hit-or-miss eagle photography results one gets, depending upon whether the plant is operating or not.

Now my wife (who is also an avid nature photographer) and I can better target our trips for success!

Norm Dulak

Planning a trip in the next few weeks. Does anyone have any nearby places to stay

Thanks

I don't have first-hand experience, Bob, as I am close enough to make it a (very long) day trip.
I believe there are some smaller motels on Route 1 north of the dam.
And of course, Havre de Grace is close, with chain lodging and dining available.
Hopefully other distance travelers will weigh in with some recommendations.
Good luck on your visit!

There was a post on MDOsprey from Les Eastman who reported seeing 45 Bald Eagles at Conowingo on 10/27.

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Originally Posted by Bob Ettinger

Planning a trip in the next few weeks. Does anyone have any nearby places to stay

Thanks

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Bob -

There's a Ramada Inn at the Perryville exit... (before you go over the bridge over the Susquehanna). One or 2 exits down (I'm not sure...) is Aberdeen and there's a bunch of chain motels down there.

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobes

Each day around 5 p.m. Eastern time, the power utility records a telephone message with the schedule of the next day's generation cycles. While the information is somewhat general, and subject to change, it at least lends a broad picture of what the power releases may be.

The number to call is: 1-888-457-4076. Again, the recording is updated each day around 5 p.m. with the following day's schedule.

I find this information very useful, along with the weather forecast, when considering a trip to Conowingo. If they're generating a lot of power, odds are any birds there will be active.

Hope to see some of you there this fall and winter!

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Bill:

I've called that number and gotten power generation levels, but I'm not certain what the info provided at that number means. At the end of the message there is reference to a phone number for the "Conowingo spill condition hotline." That number is 1-877-457-2525.

When the eagles are actively fishing the waters below the dam, it seems to me that water is actively coursing over the dam. That doesn't always occur, and the chances for photographing the eagles fishing then have generally been poor. While I'm sure that the Conowingo facility always generates some power, it evidently can do so without visible water flow over the dam.

My question therefore is does there have to be active water flow over the Conowingo dam for good fishing eagle photography, and does that depend on the dam's spill condition?

If it does, photographic conditions may not be good in the next 8 hours, because zero spill gates will be open then. The spill condition hotline updates every 8 hours.

Norm Dulak

Norm,
To me, the information on the line gives a general sense of activity at the dam each day.
You'll notice that in referencing power generation, it refers to 'large units' and 'small units', and how many of each are scheduled in a time span of several hours.
As suggested earlier, I don't use this information as any sort of reliable, scientific timing barometer.
I consider it, along with the weather, when deciding whether to make the trip.
I know from several years' experience, that if the dam is active, and water is moving due to power generation, the eagles will be actively feeding.
When the lights light and the sirens sound, the flight and feeding activity picks up markedly.
As for 'spill conditions,' I've seen the alerts sound and swift current flowing without any water gushing over the spill gates. That's the reason I didn't mention the second number, as it means more to a fisherman at risk in a small boat than a photographer on the bank.
That said, I've seen eagle activity under all types of flow conditions, from dead calm to raging torrent.
Sometimes we just have to wait longer for photo opportunities.

Thanks Bill. That explains a lot.

Norm Dulak

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Originally Posted by Chris Brennan

Bob -

There's a Ramada Inn at the Perryville exit... (before you go over the bridge over the Susquehanna). One or 2 exits down (I'm not sure...) is Aberdeen and there's a bunch of chain motels down there.

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Thanks for that info

Thanks for the information, Bill. I will try to go there sometime in the near future. Are afternoons generally better than mornings? It's only a 2-hour trip from here, not so bad.

Axel, my experience is that it's generally more active from dawn to mid morning, and beginning again around two hours before sunset.
But depending on so many factors, it can pick up at any time, or go fallow for hours on end.
Of course, when the water flow alert light and sound show erupts, at unpredictable exact times, the joint can be jumpin' in minutes.

I just had a look at the map and it seems there is a small road on the western side of the river south of the dam. Is this the place to go or the bridge itself? I'm wondering because of the light angle. It seems that mornings would not be so good because of backlight.

The small road is the place to go.
In fact, it's impossible and illegal to stop on the bridge.
There is parking all along the road south of the dam, with access to the river bank.
You can set up anywhere along it, or at the new fisherman's park at the end near the dam for lower angle water access, or at the boater's parking lot near the entrance for better morning light.
Back light is rarely an issue, as there are so many variables in bird location and flight direction.
Some of the sunrises over the river are spectacular, so be sure to bring a landscape lens if you're so inclined!

Thanks, Bill! Sounds like a good place to go throughout the winter.

Thanks for the info, I've never been but I'm planning a trip up there the weekend after Thanksgiving...

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Originally Posted by Josh O'Donnell

Thanks for the info, I've never been but I'm planning a trip up there the weekend after Thanksgiving...

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Josh:

The time for your proposed visit might be OK for eagle photography. But there is a potential problem on that weekend; it is the beginning of the shotgun deer hunting season in Maryland, and it is the only weekend on which hunting is also permitted in some counties on Sunday. So gunfire in the surrounding woods might not be conducive to the best possible photography on that particular weekend.

Norm Dulak

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Originally Posted by Norm Dulak

Josh:

The time for your proposed visit might be OK for eagle photography. But there is a potential problem on that weekend; it is the beginning of the shotgun deer hunting season in Maryland, and it is the only weekend on which hunting is also permitted in some counties on Sunday. So gunfire in the surrounding woods might not be conducive to the best possible photography on that particular weekend.

Norm Dulak

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Norm, thanks for the info... I should be able to move my visit back to the next weekend without any troubles... Only concern I have is visiting on a Saturday, are Saturday's open to deer hunting? I'm assuming yes?

Josh:

Yes they are. But I think I would go anyway if I were you. There shouldn't be hunting very close to the dam where the eagles are photographed, and now is the best time to see the largest numbers of eagles.

I was there there today and saw a good number of eagles, although they weren't terribly active.

Norm

I went yesterday,, and there was no gunfire on the west bank of the river, where the eagles are usually photographed.
Perhaps hunting isn't permitted there on the property owned by Exelon, or at Susquehanna State Park which extends along the river for several miles to the south.
The steep, high hills on the west bank probably wouldn't be conducive to deer hunting anyway.
On the east side, though, about a mile across the waters, you could hear occasional shotgun blasts.
There is much more flat, woodsy terrain there.
Eagle activity yesterday was fairly good, though with very, very long lulls between early morning and late afternoon.
Predictably, flight and fishing activity picked up with water flow from power generation around 8 a.m., and again around 4 p.m.

Anyone planning on visiting Conowingo this Saturday? I'm still planning on going, it looks like it will be the only weekend before Christmas that I have available. The weather forecast isn't looking terribly favorable, so if it's bad I might wait until Sunday.

I won't be able to make it, but you'll have plenty of company!

It's become quite the 'in' destination.

By the way, I've been there in all kinds of weather, and was rarely disappointed.

Have a great time, and let us see an image or two!

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Originally Posted by Josh O'Donnell

Anyone planning on visiting Conowingo this Saturday? I'm still planning on going, it looks like it will be the only weekend before Christmas that I have available. The weather forecast isn't looking terribly favorable, so if it's bad I might wait until Sunday.

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Josh:

For what it's worth at this early date, the weather forecast for the Conowingo area on Saturday is for a 30% chance of rain or snow. While precipitation may not occur, the sky is likely to be cloudy. Lack of light is not good for BIF.

Sunday is forecast to be mostly sunny, so I may try to make an appearance then.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Norm

One more quick question... I'm renting some longer glass for the weekend, I can choose between the 200-400VR or 500 (non VR). I'm torn, not sure if I should go with the more flexible and VR equiped 200-400 or go for the extra reach of the 500 and sacrifice the VR and flexibility.. I'll likely use a 1.7x TC with either on a D300. Any opinions?

I'd probably opt for the 500, especially if using the 1.7 TC. The AF is much faster without it.
I use the 600 VR and the 200-400 VR, and sometimes the birds fly so close that the 200-400 is a life-saver.
The D300 AF really slows down when using a TC ... and that will be especially true with the 1.7. At least that's been my experience.
If you're patient enough for the birds to 'come to you,' the 200-400 without the TC is a great choice. The crop factor really helps, so much so, that I often favor the D300 over my D3 at Conowingo.
And FWIW, I've gotten some great BIF shots there on cloudy days, though the blue sky background is nice.

This trip is on my wish list :)

Hope to see you there, Fabs ! :)

Wow Josh, this was the place you were talking about last weekendl when we met a WACo. Way cool, to learn more about it, and to hear about the feeding "stimulants". Best of luck, look forward to seeing this, sounds awesome!
Don

Great information. I have the week of Christmas off so I think I'll head up there and check it out. Thanks.

Well with the rain and snow this morning I decided to wait until tomorrow to head up to Conowingo... I just called the hotline and it sounds like they should be releasing a good amount of water from 7-11 am tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping for a lot of activity... I'll be in a Silver Saturn Vue if anyone else makes it out, make sure to say hello!

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Originally Posted by Josh O'Donnell

Well with the rain and snow this morning I decided to wait until tomorrow to head up to Conowingo... I just called the hotline and it sounds like they should be releasing a good amount of water from 7-11 am tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping for a lot of activity... I'll be in a Silver Saturn Vue if anyone else makes it out, make sure to say hello!

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I might go tomorrow morning depending on the road situation. I have a 500 with camo lens cover and don't use a tripod.

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Originally Posted by Josh O'Donnell

Well with the rain and snow this morning I decided to wait until tomorrow to head up to Conowingo... I just called the hotline and it sounds like they should be releasing a good amount of water from 7-11 am tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping for a lot of activity... I'll be in a Silver Saturn Vue if anyone else makes it out, make sure to say hello!

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My apologies to you Josh!

Linda and I were there today but didn't read your comments until after we had returned home. We saw Axel there, and we're sorry we missed you! I hope you were successful on your Conowingo debut.

Norm

I was looking for Josh but couldn't find anyone who looked like his avatar.

Sorry I missed you guys today... I was there until about 11 or so... From what I understand this morning was relatively slow? I'm thinking about heading up that way again tomorrow morning if I can drag myself out of bed early again.

Josh
It was nice meeting you at the dam.
You were set up next to my wife and I.

We left about 1 PM on Sunday. A few more flyovers after you left, but little to no fishing activity.

We are planning on going again soon.

For the flying shots you might want to try a 1.4 teleconverter on that 200-400 or no teleconverter at all. Mine is too slow on flying shots for good sharp focus when using the 1.7 teleconverter

Jim

It was nice meeting you too Jim.

And yes you are certainly correct, I wasn't pleased with a majority of the images I brought home. I think a number of factors contributed to the poor quality of most of my images from Sunday, a majority being attributed to the fact that was the first time I've used that lens and I'm not accustomed to using a lens that big.

I'm heading there again Friday afternoon, I have to work in Baltimore but should be done by 1pm so I'm going to head up and hope to get a couple hours in before dark.

Took a ride down there yesturday what a good time never saw so many eagles in 1 place that close to home!!!!

Friday was good day with quite a few sitting along the nature trail below the boat ramp.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...s/_BSE0488.jpg

Counted 70m Bald Eagles early in morning and quit counting when I could not be sure I was counting unique birds.

No fishing activity on Friday-some brisk activity just before dark on Saturday when they started running quite a few generators

Jim

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Originally Posted by Jim_Borden

Friday was good day with quite a few sitting along the nature trail below the boat ramp.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...s/_BSE0488.jpg

Counted 70m Bald Eagles early in morning and quit counting when I could not be sure I was counting unique birds.

No fishing activity on Friday-some brisk activity just before dark on Saturday when they started running quite a few generators

Jim

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Thanks for the update, Jim! I'm surprised that there are still so many eagles around. I thought many of them would have left for their breeding grounds by now.

Axel

I am beginning to think that the area around the dam supports a large native population of eagles and maybe some of the ones that hang around are not far from home.

Jim