Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol - Vol. #6

7th image ..... I think he has something small in his talons ?

8th image .......

9th image ......... next to last.

10th and last photo of this group. Gotta go shovel more snow. Shoveled 9 inches before lunch and looks like another 4-5 inches out there, and still snowing.

Some planes have been sitting on the tarmac at BWI Airport since 7 a.m. and are stranded. Chicago Bears are stuck in Chicago waiting to fly into Baltimore for tomorrow's NFL game.

The blackbirds are eating all of my birdseed and keeping the smaller birds away. The only thing that would make my day would be to see a Bald Eagle land at my bird feeder .......

The only thing worse would be if Santa Claus gets stranded at the North Pole.

18" of snow later, here is a few more .......

Another adult sitting high up in a tree, catching a little sunshine.

Another catch ......

And, the chase is on ........

Another photo of the chase ......

Coming my direction .....

Awesome and spectacular photos!! Wow, they seem to get better and better Linth.

Stay warm and safe in that snow. I sure don't miss it. I'm looking out at a thick blanket of fog over the lake and thinking how lucky I am that I don't have to shovel snow anymore.

Thanks, duc. Glad you are enjoying them.

On an interesting side note, I was told by a local biologist that there are 1,500 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in the Chesapeake Bay area states. At the low point, only 420 nesting pair were found in the entire continental United States. I recently sent some photos of a tagged juvenile with a satellite transmitter on his back to Peter Nye, one of the top eagle biologists in the U.S. In 1976, there was only one nesting pair in the state of New York and that one failed. Beginning that same year he began an effort to reestablish the Bald Eagle in New York by going to Alaska and bringing back some young eaglets. By 2002, there were 70 nesting pair in NY. It is success stories like this that are hidden behind these photos of the Bald Eagle.

I also observed that the two Bald Eagles were checking out their nest today at the Blackwater NWR webcam. Only 30 days to go for the first eggs.

So, here's a few more images ..........

And, another ......

He's coming closer ..... and he's bringing dinner .....

A real nice 8' wing-spread .......

How would you like this coming at you ?

Nice shots Linth!! To tell you the truth I wouldn't mind if I seen that coming at me as long as I had my camera. lol

I luv the series shots from this group linthicum! Thanks for sharing.

Great shots Linth!

Linth, your photos are breathtaking! Your side note was really interesting and that's great news! Wow, I can't believe there were 70 nesting pair in 2002. Hope they'll update that in the future with a larger number and it looks like they may with all the birds you're seeing there. I just heard we have three nests here which surprised me because we usually only see two adults and two immature at a time go by the house.

Thank you all once again. I wish I could post more photos of the Bald Eagle that are a little more exciting beyond the sitting pose or even the flight shots. After a while they start looking alike. But they don't always cooperate with some of their other maneuvers.

Anyway, here's a "headless" adult Bald Eagle that just caught a fish. Unfortunately, 50% of the time, the eagle is showing his rear but they can still be a little interesting.

Especially if he drops it ...... they drop so many !!!

Here's a closer look at one of the overhead shots. As they soar past you, you need to have the shutter speed bumped up because not only is the eagle moving, the camera is trying to keep him in the viewfinder, and focused.

Eagles have eyelids that close during sleep. For blinking, they also have an inner eyelid called a nictitating membrane. Every three or four seconds, the nictitating membrane slides across the eye from front to back, wiping dirt and dust from the cornea. Because the membrane is translucent, the eagle can see even while it is over the eye.

I get quite a few shots with the membrane showing ....... this is the same eagle.

A nice side-view of a flying adult Bald Eagle ........

Looks like another adult with the nictitating membrane showing. He has a nice fish.

As you have probably witnessed in some of my photos, there are a lot of obstacles around. Sometime ago, Resin questioned me about these hazards. At the time, I told him that I have never seen or heard of one colliding with the wires.

However, in the recent conversation that I have had with a regional biologist, he told me that at the local Aberdeen Proving Grounds, 62 bald eagles mortalities have occurred between 1985 and 2007 resulting from the electric lines. The Aberdeen Proving Grounds is a haven for Bald Eagles but is closed to the public. Military maneuvers, helicopters, etc. pose an added threat, especially at night. The biologist told me that he is currently working with APG as well as the Exelon Corporation that owns the Conowingo Dam in an effort to reduce these hazards to the Bald Eagle.

Another shot with electrical wires in the background .....

Here's a lone adult sitting among the trees. Trees can pose a small hazard also. The other day I saw two eagles fighting among the trees and it seemed like the one fell about 15 feet before he regained control. The branches were cracking as he was falling.

Those are really nice close-ups Linth!! Its good that this bird has recovered!!

Wonderful shots and observations, Linth. The close-ups are amazing.

Wow these are just views that you don't ever see. It's fascinating to observe how far back they carry their prey, tucked in, during flight. It makes sense; I just hadn't thought about it.

I really like it when large companies and conservationists/biologists can work together. Too bad that it so often can only come about because of regulations. I hope that in the next 100 years, we can change our perspective (our culturally learned expections of ourselves) away from marauding and more toward stewardship.

Well said Katie!

Linth, that was interesting about the eyelid too. I've caught a couple shots in the past showing that and just assumed it was blinking. Breathtaking photos which never bore me one bit!

May you all have a Blessed Holiday Season and a Joyous New Year filled with a myriad of exciting ornithological sightings. May good health and happiness follow you everywhere.

Sweeet!! To you and yours also Linth!

Thank you and a very happy holiday to you and all our bird friends, as well!

Linth, that's lovely. Merry Christmas to you and your family. May 2010 give you warm feet, warm hands and brilliant lighting.

Thank you ......

Happy Holidays everyone!

Beautiful card Charlie... nice job!
Merry Christmas to you too!

Hope you all had a nice Holiday ..... we have had heavy rain over night which really put a dent into the 18" inch snow we had last weekend.

A few photography items that I received for Christmas included a Hoodman LCD Screen Loupe which I hope will come in handy when I'm out there in the bright sunlight. I also got Photoshop Elements 8 so I might try playing around with that. And, I also received a card reader to download my photos. For some reason, my photos currently download so slowly from my camera. Hope a card reader speeds up the transfer.

I still have a few more eagle images from two weeks ago ........