A MORNING WITH EAGLES

EOS Canon 50D with 120 - 400mm Sigma IS lens

The boat ramp at Douglas Dam campground was full of boat trailers and trucks as there must have been a large scale bass tournament underway.  I decided to drive to the opposite side of the lake to put the boat in.  I hate bass tournaments and like to stay clear of them.  I hate to see guys making money on a wild critter even if its a fish.

The morning was really clear with a "just right" temperature for meandering around a lake.  I noted several immature bald eagles flying along the shoreline and hoped for an opportunity to photograph one or two.  The opportunity presented itself in short order as a bald eagle cruised past the boat and headed for the big trees on the mountainside to my right.

 OK, these aren't the best pictures but I couldn't pass them up.  Things might get better later.  This bird is not one of the two that were born this spring to the pair of eagles nesting at point 18 on Douglas Lake.  I can tell this by the coloration on this immature.

 He flew up the side of the mountain and found his favorite perch between two thick tree tops.  What a great place to watch the lake from.  I'm envious!  

A double crested cormorant was being struck directly in the face by the sun and it seemed to brighten up his coloration. 

Another immature bald eagle did a fly by on the boat while crossing the lake and I did the best I could with him.  I feared a strong back light situation would ruin the shots but the blue sky sort of saved things.  The pictures aren't perfect but not bad for the situation.  And, this eagle isn't one of the babies born this year either.  Too much white.  He may be an eagle that migrated down from the far north and just stayed here.  I'll watch him through the winter.

I still can't resist photographing the great egrets.  They are so very elegant and impressive.

 "Who are you?  Hey, who are you anyway?"

 "I'm outa here!"

Check out these guys hanging out on a favorite snag.

 What speed!  Amazing power!

A short stop on the shoreline to pick up a rock revealed some tracks of the local inhabitants.

Then I found the two babies.  One was shrieking and chirping loudly high in a tree. 

 He's a big shot up there!

A second eagle blasted out of the top of a tree near by.  He came straight at me and swerved over the top of the boat top and flew upstream parallel to the boat.  Got him!

This is one of the babies born this spring.  The eagle that follows is the second baby born this spring.  What a find!

 I love these two shots.  What a gorgeous bird and he seems to be perched in paradise.  And so we have siblings - brother and sister.  I wished them well and left them alone.

That wraps up today and I want to thank you for stopping by to check on the wild country.  Pray it stays that way.