Capturing the bald eagles at Cohoes Falls was a fantastic start to this year; it is a front-row seat to one of New York’s amazing conservation triumphs. Just decades ago, these majestic raptors were on the brink of extinction, with only a single breeding pair left in the entire state by 1970 due to the devastating effects of DDT. Thanks to the DEC’s pioneering "hacking" program launched in 1976—which carefully reintroduced eaglets into the wild—New York’s eagle population has surged to hundreds of nesting pairs across the state as of 2026.
Today, the Mohawk River at Cohoes Falls serve as a vital sanctuary. I was there on a bitterly cold first weekend of January 2026, improvising to get the perfect shot. My patience finally paid off on Saturday, January 3rd, when I had to chance to document a spectacular count of 15 eagles congregating on the ice floes and nearby trees to fish.
Mid-air maneuver: Eagle shifting its catch from its talons to its mouth. Eagles do this sometimes to get a better balance than keeping it in its talons especially when it's windy and also probably to safeguard it from competition. Click on each picture to open it in a lighbox (full screen) for a better viewing experience
Hydration on the Floes: Even in the sub-freezing temperatures of an Upstate New York winter, survival requires constant adaptation. While bald eagles typically get their water from the prey they catch, they are known to ingest snow or ice as a direct source of hydration when open water is limited or after a successful hunt. Particularly exciting moment when I captured this eagle takes a moment between its aerial acrobatics to utilize the frozen river itself for sustenance.
