BALD EAGLES, PILEATED WOODPECKERS AND A LITTLE MORE

 When I came upon this eagle he was pulling feathers out from under his wing.  If you look closely you can see plumage sticking up on the right side of his face.  I'd say he is molting right now.

 See the plumage sticking up past his beak?  He's molting and that is just an errant feather.

 He took off and flew up the shoreline ahead of me.  I'd surely run onto him again soon.

 Notice the white in the plumage.  This bald eagle is an immature that is approximately four years old, I'd guess.  Another year and all the white flecks will be gone and he will assume the colors of the adult bald eagle.

I did come upon him shortly after the first sighting, only this time he would not wait for me.

 Just look at that mighty leap into the sky!

Not fifteen minutes later yet another bald eagle appeared.  Wow!  This one was very far away and I doubted I could successfully get him.  But that 7D Canon did the trick.

 This bald eagle is an adult with full colors.  There are no flecks in his plumage.  He's over 5 years old for sure.

Its amazing what one can see just cruising up a shoreline.
Then I noticed some red color moving on the shoreline back in a cove.

 He is a pileated woodpecker. Actually, there are two of them and they are chordeling back and forth constantly.  I killed the engine for this episode.   I have never heard a pileated woodpecker talk.

 What a marvelous bird!

I couldn't pass up this cormorant.  He did everything but jump into the camera.

And that's it for this adventursome post.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Thanks for being here.

Oh, and I came across these two little darlins while cruising up the coast.  Both are beauties!!

AN HOUR IN THE SS MINNOW (1955 Crestliner)

RAPTORS AND OTHER THINGS

I never was any good at putting titles on blog entries.  I put most, but not all, of these shots on my Facebook page but left many shots out as folks get bored easily  if they are overloaded with too much of anything.  I guess the same holds true here too but the blog strikes me as a more personal forum and I prefer the climate of the blog over Facebook to post pictures.

Yesterday proved to be a quiet time on Cherokee Lake because there was nearly a total absence of boat traffic.  It was hot - very hot and it kept people away.  Raptors have to eat and they hunt whether its hot or cold out and I knew I'd find them.
Check out these ospreys:

 The osprey below is one of two babies.

 Another young bird below:

 Look at how magnificent this creature is!

Below is my meager attempt at creativity.  Oh well----

 Great Egrets are a marvel to watch whether hunting or flying.  This bird is one of the most graceful birds in East Tennessee and a privilege to be near.

 Its a challenge to get the color of their plumage right.

A black crowned juvenile rests in safety and in the shade.  I almost missed him.

 This is becoming a very productive day as far as photographing raptors.  Then Whoa!

 

 A bald eagle juvenile.  Bald eagles appear magestic even when they just sit, perched and idle.  An amazing bird.

These guys are such a privilege to behold!  What a gift from nature, and we have them here in East Tennessee in good numbers to enjoy.

 

I was enjoying his presence so much that I forgot to watch for indications he was going to fly.  The take offs and landings of these great birds is spectacular.  Of course, I missed the take off.

 He was off and away!  Wow!

And, I have to include Squiggy Squirrel

 

 Squiggy is a regular mountain climber.  Actually squirrels forage along  shorelines to find additional nutrients as mast trees are not the predominant tree on the islands.

Here are some shots from the day before that may or may not have been posted on the Facebook page. 

 WOW!!!!!

I'll end this post with the following high flying, curious, osprey.

That's it.  Hope you liked this entry