This post was going to be exclusively a Bald Eagle update but I have to add a story that has been all too common with me and possibly with other wildlife photography hobbyists. My wife, Elena, and I set up to watch the eagle nest. This morning there was no adult on the nest. I could see nestlings peeking over the edge once in awhile so I knew they were still active. There was one other person about 100 yards down the road from me. This person had an impressive setup of a 600mm or 800mm lens that put my 300mm to shame. We all waited, and waited until finally the other guy had enough. He packed up and left. I told Elena "The eagles will come now". Too often I've missed shots because I packed up too early. Sure enough, within minutes, the male eagle flew to the nest.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle And Eaglets (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/4.5 @ 420mm, 1/1000, ISO 200)
The eaglets ate.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle And Eaglets (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/4.5 @ 420mm, 1/1000, ISO 200)
Within minutes it finished feeding the eaglets and flew to a nearby tree.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/4.5 @ 420mm, 1/2500, ISO 200)
The eagle preened its feathers a while and seems pretty content perched on the top of the dead tree.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/7.1 @ 420mm, 1/1000, ISO 200)
After about 1/2 hour, the eagle still perched on the tree, I decided we should drive to another location of the lake where there is an Osprey nest. As we drove out of sight I remembered the "other guy" that left too early and missed this opportunity so I quickly turned around to sit with the eagles a while longer. There are a lot of photos I'd like to get and one of them is an eagle flying directly towards me. As I got out of the vehicle the female arrived at the nest and within a minute the male left his perch and flew off over the lake probably to get their next meal.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/7.1@ 420mm, 1/800, ISO 200)
He flew right at us and over our head.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle And Eaglets (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/7.1 @ 420mm, 1/800, ISO 200)
This next photo falls under the category of the shot you almost got. As the eagle flew over my head he passed over a tree and put branches between us. These branches appear in the photo as out-of-focus streaks. This would have been a great shot if it weren't for the branches but I like it anyway.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle And Eaglets (Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm 2.8L, 1.4X EF Extender III, f/7.1 @ 420mm, 1/1000, ISO 200)
So as far as the update goes... the Bald Eagles seem to be doing fine, the eaglets are growing rapidly, and I got a shot of an eagle flying at me. What's next? Hopefully, I can photograph an eagle snatching a fish out of the water.
Thanks for looking,
Dan
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