Bald Eagles

Friday, January 4, 2007

I routinely spend time along the Wisconsin River, hoping to get a few good pictures of the bald eagles that roost there during the winter. The last two years I haven't gotten any good photos at all. Because I actually work for a living, I can't camp out out there and wait for them, so it's a hit and miss thing on the early morning Fridays that I go there. Well, finally on Friday, January 4, it was a "hit" day! I spent about 45 minutes hiding in my vehicle (people scare them, so you stay in your vehicle), waiting and watching. It was about 10°F out but warm enough to sit with the engine off and the window down. I've done this in much much colder weather (well below zero). My patience paid off and I happily took photos of these magnificent birds until two guys with a boat, and then a guy with an end loader showed up. I guess they have to move the snow, but I wish they'd stayed away longer. At one point while I was taking photos, I'd been there long enough that the birds didn't notice me anymore. Three eagles flew right in front of my vehicle. One had a fish and the other two were trying to take it away from him. I only got one (bad) shot of it because they were so close I didn't have time to zoom my 100-400L lens out. Not to mention that I was pretty excited, too... Following is a small selection of the photos I took that day.



A mature bald eagle heading up the Wisconsin River.



This is an immature bald eagle--they don't get the white head and tail until they're 4-5 years old.



An immature bald eagle. His buddies can be seen in the background.



Another immature bald eagle. It was good to see so many young ones this year.



Bald eagles hanging out in a tree.



Wait, these aren't eagles! They're Canada Geese that flew by as I was taking pics.