Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol - Vol. #7

This is my 7th Bald Eagle thread since starting the first one back in November, 2009. I suppose some may see it as egotistical but I have chose to display my joy in photographing the Bald Eagle this way rather than clutter the Daily Bird Pics thread. For those addicted to looking at Bald Eagle photos, like I am, here is a link to the previous thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1063349/

Having the affection that I do for nature and birds, I'm reluctant to use the idiom "kill two birds with one stone". But that is what I do at the eagle site that I visit. Of course, I have the joy of photographing Bald Eagles but, in addition, I am surrounded by a wealth of helpful information from the other photographers that are present. One can read lots of articles but nothing beats conversing face to face with others of like interest. Many help me and I also help others. In the interim, a Bald Eagle flies overhead unnoticed because our mouths were more active than our eyes. Oh Well !!!

This year's activity has been down from previous years. I am not sure why. I suspect some of it is the result of the warm weather that we have experienced to date which doesn't push the Bald Eagles south until their food source freezes over. On the other hand, we have had some disturbances in the area which may have caused them to "hang out" elsewhere. By disturbances, I mean loud equipment as well as a few probably well-intended individuals getting a little to close to their "private" area.

I hope you continue to enjoy my joy in photographing the Bald Eagle. I will try to be somewhat selective in posting new photos.

Are they playing or do they mean business ? I would like to get more shots of them engaging in aggressive behavior but one has to be quick.

We're always looking for the action shots as compared to sitting, or gliding photos. Here is an adult Bald Eagle that just caught a fish. I missed the catch. I suppose I was talking when I should have been watching !

Another adult Bald Eagle with a nice catch flying right toward me. Often a chase will ensue with a loss of fish. I've seen the fish fall on a car, or in the parking lot, as they try to get away from their pursuer.

I think this shot preceded the third photo but as I mentioned, I didn't get him hitting the surface of the water ..... a split second too late.

Another adult against the fall colors.

Same eagle, slightly different pose.

The adult Bald Eagles are more photogenic then the juveniles ..... just an opinion. Here is one in a full glide.

If you look closely, he has a fish tucked away in his talons

A nice variety, Linth. All very nice. I really enjoy your pictures.

Dave

I hope you won't be toooo selective in what you post here-I love each and every photo and have learned a lot from them. I do want to ask why I can't see your EXIF information? Think I asked this last year too-but the senior moments are catching up to me.

I often wonder about that aggressive or playing behavior too. I watch our eagles do that here and their screeching at the same time just echoes off the tall mountain across an inlet from us. It's times like this that bring nature closer and I feel sad for the people in large cities who aren't lucky enough to hear it.

Great job on these pictures Linth. I'm glad that you enjoy watching these raptors as much as I do.

Wonderful shots Linth!

All beautiful shots Linth...I am looking forward to seeing more of these gorgeous birdsf!

Thanks, all.

duc, I don't do it intentionally but my photo software (Photo Explosion Deluxe) has a crop feature and a trim feature. If I use the crop feature, it retains the EXIF information. For whatever reason, I started using the Trim feature which doesn't retain the info. The last two times I have visited Conowingo, I have used the following settings: Manual control with a shutter speed of 1/1600 sec, aperture of f/8, ISO 400, exposure compensation of -0.7 and spot metering mode. I was using Aperture priority but constantly had poor results with non-sky shots with a moving Bald Eagle. Still shots were fine. Sky shots were okay. But, on aperture priority the shutter speed would be too slow for a moving subject and the photos were blurred. I don't want to use an ISO above 400 because of noise. Still shots obviously allow you to try several settings but with fast moving Bald Eagles, you don't have that luxury.

I mentioned that I see a lot of Bald Eagles lose their fish. I took this following series of 4 photos probably within one second. In each photo, the fish is still out of the water. The eagle lost the fish because when he snagged it from the water it appears that he ripped the entire head off. Here is the first one.

Photo #2 ...... usually if they loose it, and it stays afloat, they will come back and pick it up again or another observing eagle will enter the search.

Photo #3 .....

And, the last photo ..... as the blurred fish is about to enter the water. I don't recall if any eagles were able to pick it up.

Here is an intense adult Bald Eagle, with talons outstretched, about to snag an unsuspecting fish.

Excellent photos Linth!!! That last one is breathtaking!

Wonderful shots Linth! I also love the last one.

I love the first one with the autumn colors. What a great background for these birds! They look pretty serious in the second one. Sure doesn't look like play! I swear in the third one that bird looks like he is smiling after catching the fish! And then the 4th one has a very serious look like he is trying hard to hurry back to somewhere private to eat that fish before someone else sees it. Then in the photo where he looses the fish he's got his beak open as if to say "what the heck just happened!" The last photo is the best though.... such a thrilled intense look on his face. I had no idea eagles had so many expressions!

I'm so happy to see another thread on your beloved Baldies, Linth. Fantastic shots. The last one, with the eagle focussed on what's in the water is amazing.

Thanks, everyone.

As I mentioned before, focusing can be tough depending on the background so I was elated to see this short series of photos turn out reasonably well. Many of my shots are quite some distance away. These shots were probably 400-500 feet away. Many of the eagles are sitting on rocks at least 2,000 feet away. Some photographers come armed with one lens on a tripod and another on their shoulder. Some have 800mm lenses. Some add teleconverters up to 2X but I have avoided the increased focal length and have stayed with 500mm.

#2 of this series .....

# 3 of the series of 4.

#4 of 4.

A flight photo of an adult Bald Eagle.

This Bald Eagle, in an acrobatic pose, looks as though he has part of a fish in his beak.

A sub-adult Bald Eagle. I would guess 3 to 3 1/2 years old.

A pair of adult Bald Eagles flying low over the river.

A juvenile chasing an adult Bald Eagle. I couldn't tell if the adult has a fish. The towers are about 800 ft. from where I was standing. You can see all of the wires that they navigate between.

They constantly sit, fly around or through the towers.

There are seven (7) Bald Eagles in the original photo before I cropped it. Plus, a few Canada Geese in the rear.

Awesome photos Linth. I love the extended talons when the eagles are about to snag a fish. That acrobatic one is just amazing. What fun you must be having.


Thanks for explaining the Exif info. I'm now trying the Shutter Prioity to see if I can improve my moving photos.

Thanks, duc. As you already know, a higher shutter speed is paramount for moving subjects. I'm still trying to find the "sweet" spot with my 500mm lens. Most say it is in the middle somewhere between f/8 and f/11. As I mentioned I have been shooting Manual for the time being. Aperture priority generally works with sky background shots but not over water shots. I generally set Manual focus, Aperture priority, Shutter speed priority ahead of time because I can change modes quicker than I can fool around with trying to change settings while I am on one subject. But, at least one of them might work. For example. if your subject is in the sky, Aperture priority is fine but as it moves to a non-sky background you could quickly switch to the Manual mode setting that you pre-determined. That way you can usually be covered for shutter speed. Anyway, whatever works ........

You seem to be doing the right thing most of the time. Most of your photos are pretty sharp. But nothing beats getting close to your subject which birding rarely allows.

Excellent shots Linth! I'm really enjoying your series!

What a treat your Bald Eagle threads are, Linth. I love each and every shot, but the one of the juvenile doing aerobatics is sensational.

I love looking at your eagles!!

Some lovely lovely photos, and do enjoy, your explanation on your technique of photography. Thanks for everything.

Beautiful pictures, Linth. I will never forget my first B.E. sighting. I grew up when the population was being decimated by DDT, and all the photos where in the canyons of the West. About 7 years ago my husband I were sailing into a bayou on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain (New Orleans area) and I spotted an Eagle perched in a high tree. In disbelief I gave the binoculars to my husband to confirm that I had seen a Bald Eagle. I was so thrilled.The next day I saw a trio flying across the marsh land hunting breakfast - awesome. It was a privelidge I never expected to have.