Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol - Vol. #7

They can look mean .....

And another ......

Getting a little close .....

Absent blue sky tends to render a photo into mediocrity .......

This shot is across the river and shows why a large focal lens is an absolute necessity for many shots out over the river. To see an eagle over there with the naked eye, one truly needs an eagle eye.

Wow, too bad about the pavilion etc being under water :( But you have got some excellent shots still!

Linth, Wonderful, wonderful photos. Particularly liked your Dec. 6, 8247630 of the eagle with fish and the so clear wing tips. Donna

Burd, I actually have not gone down to the pavilion, yet. I have my favorite spot about 20' from my car. However, the pavilion will give one a different perspective since you are pretty much at water level.

Donna, how are you doing ? I'm sure that you are seeing lots of wildlife in your area.

I'm always on the lookout for eagles that are banded or have a GPS transmitter attached. This adult Bald Eagle is the only one that I have seen this season. It appears as though the unit it has shifted from top to bottom. Some of the other eagles would chase it because they thought it was carrying a fish. I track a lot of the monitored eagles at the following website. It just adds a little "extra" to photographing eagles in hoping that you just might photograph one of the monitored eagles.

http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?project_id=349

Beautiful photos Linth. It's interesting to see the eagles don't move the fish in their talons to face forward like the osprey do. Maybe their talons are stronger and longer since they're a larger bird?

That sure is interesting to see the transmitter on the eagles.

Last year, I photographed a juvenile Bald Eagle with a GPS monitor and a leg tag S-47. His name is Hudson. I was hoping to get the opportunity to maybe see him again this year but he is still hanging out in the corner of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I reported last year's sighting to the personnel involved in the monitoring project out of the College of William & Mary in Virginia. My photos of Hudson were featured in their Sept-Dec, 2009 newsletter.

http://www.ccb-wm.org/news/2009_SeptDec/eagles_at_ConowingoDam.html

Note: It seems like there is a few second delay in getting to the referenced articles.

That is really neat Linth.
It's a shame that fallen tracking device is causing that one eagle some extra problems.

Beautiful pics!

Wow beautiful shots - how blessed you are to have a place where you can consistently see them in person! We have one occasionally visit our plant where I work.... we are right beside a river and we usually spot one in spring for just a day or two - usually way too far away to get a decent shot......

Thanks again.

Here are a few more flight photos. I am fortunate to have the Bald Eagles relatively close-by. I will probably only visit one or two times more and then devote my efforts to other wintering and/or migrating birds. The Snow Geese and Tundra Swans have arrived here in the Mid-Atlantic region.

A juvenile flies directly overhead ......

An adult flying against the blue sky .....

Another adult fly-over looking to his left ......

Another juvenile heading my way .....

Another 3 to 3 1/2 year old Bald Eagle ..

Sometimes when I have a series of photos I try to roll them into a collage ....

I'm always looking for a different way to present a photo .......

An adult Bald Eagle in a full glide .....

Wonderful shots! I love seeing the collage.

Thanks, pelle. Sorry for the sporadic postings but I have had some period interruptions with my grandson.

A Bald Eagle with Ring-billed Gull in background. Presence of lots of gulls is always a good indicator for a good day.

A close-up view of an immature Bald Eagle ....

"Whatta you lookin' at, Mister"

Just another pose of same eagle .....

Ditto to the collage! Great Set! Love that "lookin at Mister" shot!

Congrats on the photos in the newsletter Linth. Your photos are always so clear and sharp. I love that "...lookin at mister" shot-superb!

I sure appreciate the time you spend out in that freezing weather to get these photos, I love seeing the eagles up close and personal.

Yes, Thank you very much for being out in the cold to get these shots!

Linth, I really liked your Dec. 9 shot #1755, The upswept wint showing the outline of the feathers is just great.

Actually this year is not the best for seeing wildlife in my immediate area. I haven't even had to keep my drive thru gate closed, Haven't seen any deer close to my house. Down the road a couple of miles I see from 10 or 12 deer whenever I drive home at dusk, have to be very watchful so as not to hit any as they cross the road.

I went to Wenatchee 130 miles,yesterday, did not see any eagles. Other years I have seen as many as 20 in that distance. Was a good day for travel, no snow on the hwy., cloudy, but some fog in spots.

Another thing have not had any Juncos . Do have 35 tp 50 Goldfinches, eating a LOT of Nyjer seed.

Donna

Burd, it's just a way to use some of the photos that I otherwise would discard....trying to make something out of nothing.

Duc & pelle, I can tolerate the cold pretty well. It's the wind that does me in. After last weekend, I've decided to take it easy today. It's also a little overcast and the weather will deteriorate as the day progresses.

Donna, the often unpredictable behavior of wildlife is fascinating to analyze. I'm sure weather plays a significant role in their behavioral habits. But, it seems like you are always seeing some wildlife. Besides deer, what other animals do you occasionally see ?

This is a short series of an eagle fishing. He was facing me correctly but as usual I somehow messed up because the other images in the series were blurred. Par for the course. Excitement does that !!! Here he is coming in for the catch.

And, a split second away from ........ Lunch.

SUCCESS !!!

what a catch, the action is really great.

They're better than this one. This is what I usually get .... the tail shot.

This might be the same eagle as in the first three images of the series. It was taken around the same time. I sometimes lose track of them because I have so many.

One more for now ..... taken last Saturday.

Great job Linth!

I agree about the wind. :-)

More great captures!...gotta love it! I know your having a blast out there. lol

Linth, your eyes are more critical, than mine, I thought your Dec. 11, #4600 was excellent.

There are quite a few coyotes in the area, looking in the alfalfa fields for a mouse or what ever lunch.

There is a very large Great Horned Owl that calls this area home. I surprised me a couple of evenings ago. I was going out to the chicken house to shut the small door between the C, house and the C. Yard. had my flashlight with me. All of a sudden there was this very large owl flying very low just in front of me. I cold see where it went and turned the light on it to see better. the owl was not very happy to have the light shine in it's face and flew away soon.

I used to see several Ring Necked pheasants sitting on top of my board fence around the yard, looking for something to eat. Haven't seen any this winter.

Did finally see a couple of Juncos tho.

Donna