Winter Time is Eagle Time

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f8 1/2500 -.33EC ISO1000 @100+ yds

Northeast USA is a wonderful place to be in winter to enjoy the American Bald Eagle.  As winter freezes rivers and lakes in Canada and the Northeast USA, the Bald Eagles migrate south in search of easier food supplies.  They congregate in areas of open water with a good supply of fish.  Places like the Conowingo Dam in Maryland, the reservoirs along the Hudson River Valley and the Delaware River Valley become stopping and/or wintering spots for the Eagles.  Joan and I have found some places that have been good for us for eagle sightings as well as Eagle Photography.  The Conowingo Dam in Maryland is a popular place for birders and photographers to congregate in October and November to view and photograph the eagles.  The activity continues through the winter but with less activity than is seen in October and November.  I am not certain why-but have a theory that the eagles that stop at Conowingo end up going father south for the winter months.  We have found that the Northern Delaware water shed region has been a very good area for observing and photographing the Bald Eagle in winter.  We visited one such area on Monday-January 3 and were treated to an entire day of eagles fishing in open water at the upper end of a reservoir.  It was exciting to watch and photograph.  We could not successfully photograph part of it as there were trees between the road and the stream entering the reservoir.  One tree there had 12 adult bald eagles perched in it. The photography is done from the vehicle on a window mount.  The reason for this is that leaving the vehicle is prohibited by law in that area when the eagles have migrated there.  Many of the eagles there have migrated from areas where they have little to no contact with humans and people outside of vehicles alarm them and they fly away and do not come back.  We have previously used a small boat launch parking lot and could be within 35 to 50 yards of the perched and flying and fishing eagles.  However, that parking lot is closed this winter because of individuals last winter ignoring the regulations and they were getting out of the vehicle.  Images can still be done in that area but the distance is 100 plus yards.

A very solid mounting system is required.  Some use window bags, but I have found with large lenses to get sharp results I have to use a sturdy window mount (such as a BM or Kirk) along with ball head and sidekick Gimbal.

Here are some shots from January 3:

Immature taking flight:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5.6 1/1600 ISO1600 @about 100 yds 

NYS Blue banded D44 After Takeoff:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5 1/1250 ISO1600 @about 100 yds

NYS Blue D44 surveying the situation:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4  @f7.1 -.33EC 1/160 ISO640 @about 60 yds

NYS Blue Y50 sitting on stump watching ducks:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5 1/640 -.33EC ISO1600 @60 yds

Maryland Pink Band U2 Landing on stump with a fish:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f8 1/1250 -.33EC ISO1000 @100+ yds

Immature Bald Eagle in flight:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4  @f6.3 1/1600 -1EC ISO400 @100+ yds

Immature coming in for a catch:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f4 1/4000 -.33EC ISO2500 @about 100 yds

Three adults looking for small fish along edge just before dark:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f4 1/320 ISO1000 @about 100 yds

Immature on stump watching ducks:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f9 1/1600-.33EC ISO1000 @about 60 yds

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Until next time!

Jim Borden

Darling Run Eagles have Fledged

We were in the area of the Darling Run nest on Friday and decided to stop by to see if the eagles were hanging around even though we knew the three chicks had fledged.  We were surprised to see that all three emmies and both adults were still hanging around the nest area.  They were all perched along Pine Creek looking for fish.   It was heavily overcast and there was a haze in the air.  I had to shoot at higher ISO settings than I normally do for eagles to keep the shutter speed at acceptable levels for the long lens.  I tried the stabilization on and off and continue to find regardless of what either Nikon or Canon say about their new VR and IS controls--using image stabilization while on the tripod actually reduces sharpness of images.

Since the lighting was poor, I had to bring back the contrast in Photoshop to make the images appear as we saw the images with our eye.  This is one of the reasons that I shoot all my images in RAW only.  If I had shot them in jpg,  the images would have been worthless.

The eagles at Darling Run are very accustomed to people and they sit still while people travel up and down the trail.  They even sit on a branch over the trail within 20 feet of hikers and bikers at times.  The only time I have seen them take careful notice is when a horse goes by.  This adult seemed nervous when I could hear a horse coming and then when it came into view on the trail, the eagle "tracked" it until it was out of sight.

Here is one of the three immature eagles from the Darling Run nest-using a perch that the adults use often.   It is interesting how they are such creatures of habit.

It has already mastered the "eagle eye" stare.  There was a flock of geese floating around beneath it and it kept a close watch of them.

Until Next time....

Jim 

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