Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol - Vol. #6

I often remember the elation when my wife and I saw our first Bald Eagle just a few years ago. It's hard to believe that this time of the year I now see more eagles than I see Northern Cardinals or Blue Jays. On Sunday, I had the occasion to spend some quality time with a local Endangered Species Biologist. He is active in the local area with the monitoring of the Bald Eagle. Here's a gentleman that climbs the trees to bring the eaglet back down to the ground to be tagged, take blood samples, weigh, etc. and then return the eaglet to the nest. He gets to hold them. As we were talking, I was impressed with HIS excitement in watching and photographing the eagles around us. One would have thought it was all in a day's work for him, but no, he too was thrilled with the eagle activity.

During the course of photographing the Bald Eagle, I'm prone to making a lot of mistakes. I even take some photos with no eagle in the image ? Sometimes you can still salvage a photo and make something out of nothing. Here is an example of a recent shot . What you see is what I got. Of course, I added a few enhancements to make the photo interesting.

Here is a link to the previous thread for anyone interested .......

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1059961/

A nice looking adult Bald Eagle photographed on Sunday ......

Giving me the ole' Eagle eye ......... this is a different eagle from the previous photo.

Another photo I tampered with slightly. I added a few snowflakes and a little 'spotlight'. The eagle on the left is eating a fish and does not seem willing to share.

A head shot.

Right above the surface of the river .......

Beautiful photos! I always enjoy reading about them. Almost as much as the photos. I did say almost! :-)

I really appreciate your getting out there in the cold but think you need to put some "pigs in the blankets" in your pockets to keep your hands warm and have something to at least snack on.

Janet

Great stuff! Charlie. These just get better and better.

Great shots Linth! Love that second one!

Very nice Linth!! All are great but I like the 3rd one, looks like its annoyed. lol

They are all just so wonderful... I especially like how you used the one in the first photo of the thread, it was a great shot after all. It works very well with the poem.

Oh, so nice. And it's great to hear about the people you meet along the way.

It's hard for me to imagine that these birds who live out in the wilds with no protection don't ever look scruffy. Each is as handsome as the one before. That in and of itself is amazing.

Thank you all ......

Janet, I have enough cold weather gear but anytime that you are out in the extreme cold and wind, all day, it takes its toll.

I'm trying to figure out the correct metering mode for an adult Bald Eagle. I usually use Spot metering but the white head is a small part of the eagle. If the camera focuses on the dark body then the white head sort of washes out. Sometimes you just can't win.

Kathy, talking to informed personnel in the field further validates that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. I just can't get enough knowledge.

Here's a few photos of an adult flying at below or near eye level.

Looks like he may have his eye on the prize ........

Same photo, uncropped. The fast moving water adds a little substance to the image.

Looks like the same photo but it is a slightly different image .....

A few more ......

Looks like he knows where he is going ......

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, on the eastern shore of Maryland, maintains webcams for the Osprey and Bald Eagles during their nesting seasons. The Bald Eagle webcam has just opened. At the same time one can often see Bald Eagles sitting on the Osprey nest (webcam). Historically, the first eagle eggs are laid around January 19th. They are already preparing the nest. As a member of the Friends of Blackwater, I visit their website site quite frequently and will also soon spend more time on the refuge photographing waterfowl.

Here is a link to the Eagle cam ...... the images will reload faster as it get closer to egg-laying time.

http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

I like when the blue sky is reflected in the water .......

Passing by at eye-level ............

Last one for now .......

These latest pictures really give me a sense of the speed changes they have to make. Like a plane: pull up, flaps up . . .

These are great Charlie! Love the webcam! I'll be watching that for sure!

Thank you. By the way, I saw a technical note on the Blackwater webcams that with the anticipated major snowstorm they may have some transmission problems. Fortunately the Bald Eagles shouldn't have any food source problems since the rivers aren't frozen over here in the Mid-Atlantic.

More than half of the Bald Eagles in the area are juveniles. Unfortunately, the juveniles are nearly as photogenic. But, here is a series (7 photos) of a juvenile catching a fish.

#2 of the series ...... just snagged the fish.

#3 of 7 ...... he got it !!!

#4 of 7 ..... nice fish !

#5 of the series.

#6 ...... he's checking out his nice catch.

#7 of 7 ...... away he goes to hopefully find a quiet place to enjoy his dinner. But, he shouldn't count on it !

Very nice series Linth! I see he caught himself a Perch. That first one is awesome, and No.6 I really like too.

Awesome series!

Excellent action sequence Linth!

Here we go again. More photos from last Sunday.

2nd photo of this group .......

3rd photo .......

4th photo ..... An adult Bald Eagle getting ready to grab a fish. Maybe ?

5th image ......

6th image ..... not certain if these are of the same eagle.

6th photo .........