Eagles At Mount Feake

CEMETERY INFORMATION ABOUT VISITORS

The City of Waltham is enthusiastic about our new family members at the Mt. Feake Cemetery,” Ozzie & Harriet”. Two eagles that appeared last year and had two chicks, only one survived.  The survivor was tagged and spotted in New Jersey and New York State along the Hudson River.

The Commonwealth of Mass, Department of Wildlife has jurisdiction on these birds and has asked for the assistance of six people to monitor and document the activities of the eagles.  These six people will have ID’s and are the only people with permission to be at the site.  Below are the City of Waltham Rules and Ordinances for the Cemetery.

Please cooperate for the sake of our families buried here and their loved ones. And for the funerals that take place here on a daily basis.

MOUNT FEAKE BIRD INFORMATION

The Waltham eagles, dubbed Ozzie and Harriet, are the first known nesting pair on the Charles River in over 100 years. This pair demonstrated nesting behavior in the spring, 2015.  As the female was still an immature eagle, the pair did not produce any young.  Due to mild temperatures over the winter the pair remained in the area. They produced and hatched two eggs in the spring of 2016. One chick perished in the nest; the other fledged (left the nest) in July 2016. Nicknamed Nelson by eagle monitors, this immature bird was fitted with a gold leg band, letters M/K.  Nelson left Mount Feake in September and has been spotted in New Jersey and New York State, along the Hudson River. This eagle, following usual behavior, is not expected to return to this area.

Ozzie and Harriet are back again for the 2017 season.  Mild temperatures have kept waterways open, and allows these eagles to capture their favorite food – fish.

Winter and early spring are stressful times for Massachusetts’s resident birds.  The cold weather robs the birds of energy.  Birds may stay perched for long periods of time as an energy conservation strategy.

If approached the birds may not appear threatened, but a disturbed bird can later leave the area and may not return, resulting in mating or nesting failure.

The mortality rate for a first year eaglet is 50%. Causes include falls from the nest when threatened or startled; predation by animals; starvation when the parents are threatened or startled; and fratricide. The young may not be as tolerant as the adults, increasing the threat risk to these birds.

Chapter 4-Cemetery, Section 4-10 Conduct of Visitors

1. The following are the provisions for the conduct of persons who may enter any of the public cemeteries of the city; provided, however, that no provisions herein contained shall be construed to limit or lesson the powers conferred upon the board as to matters not contained in these provisions.

1. No person, other than a lot owner upon his own lot, shall walk, stand or lounge upon the grass, the flower beds, or the graded lots or borders within the cemetery limits.
2. (a)               No person shall within cemetery limits, gather any wild or cultivated flowers, or                  disturb any floral design or vase.

(b)               No person shall write upon or mark any monument, gravestone, or other          structure or thing planned or designed as a memorial for the dead.

1. No person shall, except as otherwise permitted in this section, carry any firearm, cross bow, hunting bow, or any other dangerous weapon within cemetery limits.
2. No person shall, within cemetery limits, destroy, injure or harm any bird, squirrel, or other animal of any kind.
3. No person shall operate any motor vehicle within cemetery limits with the sole intent to pass through the same, from street to street.  No person shall operate any motor vehicle, within cemetery limits, at a speed greater than fifteen (15) miles per hour.
4. No person shall ride a bicycle within cemetery limits, except a lot owner for the purpose of visiting his own lot.
5. No person shall enter or remain in a cemetery for any purpose other than to attend a funeral or care for or visit a lot or grave.
6. No person shall take any dog, nor allow a dog that he owns to follow him into any cemetery.
7. No person shall land in Mount Feake cemetery from any boat, or loaf or lounge or fish on the banks of the Charles River within the boundaries of the cemetery.
8. No person shall engage in loud talking or boisterous conduct of any sort in any cemetery, or bring refreshments into the same.
9. No person shall park any vehicle within cemetery limits, except for the purpose of attending a funeral or for the purpose of caring for or visiting a lot or grave, and then only in such manner as will not interfere with the owner of any other lot or grave or interfere with the movement of other vehicles.  No person shall park any vehicle in the entrance of any cemetery.
10. No person shall enter, or remain in, any cemetery later than three-quarters of an hour after sunset.
11. No person taking care of his own lot or the lot of another shall leave weeds, grass or rubbish of any sort on any other lot or on any of the paths or avenues of a cemetery.
12. No person shall place, throw, deposit, discharge, or cause to be placed, thrown, deposited or discharged, any trash, bottles or cans, refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris, scrap waste, or any other material of any kind on any path, avenue, lot or any land within the cemetery limits.
13. The following act are specifically forbidden within the territorial boundaries of city cemeteries:

1. Roller skating and skateboarding.
2. The use of mini-bikes and go carts.
3. The display or sale of goods, wares or merchandise.
4. Instructing persons in the use and operation of a motor vehicle.
5. The use of cemetery roadways for pleasure driving.
6. Entering into, or remaining within, the cemetery after the main gates have been closed, without authorized by the superintendent of cemeteries.

1. (a)  Any person found to be in violation of any of the above provisions of the city 

       Ordinances, or of any cemetery rule or regulations, shall be subject to prosecution to   

       the maximum extent allowable under all applicable laws, regulation, rules and   

      ordinances.

       (b) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any cemetery employee, any         

             member of the police or fire departments, or any other city employee if compliance                               with such provision would interfere with the ability of the employee to properly                                        perform duties of this position.  

1. Notwithstanding the provision of subsection (a)(3) of this section, members of military or veterans’ organizations may be permitted, subject to the approval of the superintendent of cemeteries, to carry firearms onto the cemetery grounds when such firearms are to be used in connection with certain ceremonies to be conducted within cemetery limits.