When the boss returned from running errands he said two Bald Eagles were in the field just up the road and asked if I had my camera. Well yes so I drove up the road and there they were, about 100 meters from where i stopped. The brisk and gusty breeze made it a challenge to hold the camera still enough to capture a not bad image.
As we left Pelee National Park, I looked up and spied a Bald Eagle riding the stiff west wind. It slanted across the wind, travelling north, the same direction as we. The eagle rode the wind just above tree level, sometimes below treetop height and having to weave through the limbs to clear air. As I drove Faye got the camera. If I stopped we fell far behind so I continued driving as Faye looked for an opportunity. This is a pretty good shot given the conditions.
We shared space for about five kilometers and time for about ten minutes, before finally parting ways in Leamington near the ferry dock. It was a truly remarkable, unique experience.
We captured this pair of Bald Eagles soaring near their nest. I understand they mate for life though they often go separate ways after fledging their young. They return to the same next year after year, continuing to add material to it. This pair’s nest is enormous and the photos we took do not come close to showing just how enormous.
We drove into Chatham today on errands. We took the cameras along because 1) one never knows what one might see and 2) we thought we might see Tundra Swans, which are starting to pass through our area. Just inside the north edge of the city a Bald Eagle flew over. Not a place I expected to see one. By the time I careened to a stop, Faye turned the camera on and handed it to me, and I bailed out of the car, the eagle had perched in a tall tree behind a web of twigs and limbs.
After fruitlessly scanning the treetops on both sides of the St. Clair River I looked up at the right place at the right time to capture this eagle around 1/2 mile away. Am very pleasantly surprised I even got it in the frame at that distance, at very high digital zoom, with a handheld camera. The camera is a Fuji FinePix S1600.
The bundle of sticks in this tree is the bald eagle next we took a drive yesterday to find searched. It appears to be about a meter wide and deep. I took this photo from about 150-200 meters away. We could not get too close because that entailed crossing private property, which we did not have permission to do.
My understanding is that once a nest is built, the nesting pair return year after year, adding materials to the nest, so they can become quite large and heavy.
Bald eagles are semi-nomadic in the winter, moving around as food availability dictates. I understand that they prefer fish yet will eat meat, carrion, etc. We hope that the eagles return. If they do I will try to get a decent photo and blog it.
previouslytexan 