Sunday Fun Day – A Walk & A Bald Eagle

  Posted on October 25, 2015 By

 28 Comments

I love taking photos.

And every now and again, I get it in my head that I need a specific photo.  Usually I get it in my head that I need some sort of animal photo which can only found in nature.  But of course, creating a specific photo that relies on wildlife in nature is not always an easy accomplishment.

This time, I decided I needed a photo of a Bald Eagle and I wasn’t going to stop until I got one.

Usually Bald Eagles appear in my part of the world in the fall months, so I knew I had a chance but also realized winter is just around the corner so my time was limited.

So, in the last few weeks we started taking our dog for walks along the river with my camera in hopes of capturing the image I really wanted.  We went for countless walks and not once did I see one, and in fact, I never saw any photo worthy birds.  I was worried I had missed my chance and was becoming annoyed as it felt like we were simply going for a walk carrying around my giant camera.

But then one day, we found him! With the help of binoculars we could see his white head and confirmed that this was my chance.

But, he wasn’t going to make it easy.  He was located in a treetop in the most inaccessible spot imaginable.  My choices were limited, and required a massive walk and even a possible swim.  Clearly, I’m not willing to go for a swim across a river in October with or without my camera.  I am just not that dedicated.

So, we walked.  In fact, we walked rather quickly, I didn’t want to miss the chance.

We kept walking as we just couldn’t get close enough to get a decent photo.  But, we kept trying and looking for a better vantage point.  At one point I swear we were walking in circles trying to find a way through trees to get closer.  Eventually we made our way through the trees to a rocky beach like area.  We had to be careful to not scare him away as we got closer, with our 90lbs dog in tow who just wanted to drink and splash in the river there were no guarantees he wouldn’t fly away at first sight of us.

Eventually and without going for a swim, I snapped a photo and then he flew away (likely thanks to our dog splashing in the river). The photo is a bit darker and a bit further away then I’d like, but in the end I went home with a smile.

20151025 - Sunday Fun Day

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 Category: Photography, Sunday Fun Day      Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

28 Comments on “Sunday Fun Day – A Walk & A Bald Eagle”

    • Thanks! I love this photo, but I do wish I could have gotten a little bit closer. For this photo we drove a few minutes from our house. And yes sadly almost all the leaves are gone. Now it’s just matter of time before there will be snow. 😕

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      • We get owls & red kites round where we live which I never tire of seeing 🙂

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      • They used to be endangered over here (UK) but now numbers are up which is great. We have some which regularly fly over our village for which I feel hugely lucky 🙂

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  9. Very cool!! Brian does crazy things to try to get pictures sometimes, too. We don’t have a big dog to worry about keeping quiet, though!

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  10. Terrific!

    I was just telling Matthew today that the bald eagles will be here soon. We see them from late December until early spring. This last spring, we were driving home from Brian’s parents and we decided to go into a park area of our nearby dam instead of drive through. Kids wanted out of the car, it was a nice day, so why not? Once we got down by the reservoir, we saw two bald eagles flying high in the distance, then closer, then closer, then…. The bigger one landed on a tree branch 30 feet from us! We walked right up to the tree, talked to him (he was high up, but not too high and was just staring into our eyes), took photos, and he was gone. I told Brian that that would NEVER happen again like that in our lifetime.

    Seeing bald eagles is special, every single time… Even when it’s”normal.”. I’m so glad you had a great camera! We only had phones. You will cherish this memory forever!

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    • This comment made me smile – sometimes it is just so easy to take these moments for granted, and in reality you are right, seeing a bald eagle is special, every single time! And yes, the bald eagles your family saw, and the bald eagle we saw, these are memories we will cherish forever!
      I hope you get to see another one again this winter! They are leaving my part of the world and heading towards you. 🙂

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  11. Beautiful! We saw a few of them this summer. A couple while we were out on the boat on the Mississippi and then 1 that was actually eating roadkill out in the country so we got to see him very closely. 🙂

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  12. He is beautiful! I know that seeing a bald eagle can be a good omen, if you believe in that sort of thing. Maybe some good news is on your horizon!

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