Tag Archives: Eagles

The National Eagle Center

In late March I spent a day Eagle watching in Wabasha, Minnesota during their spring migration. The National Eagle Center has special events during this time of year making the trip there even more enjoyable. They always have Eagles for people to view up close. These have been injured at some point and are unable to survive in the wild, however they allow people to see these large, majestic birds of prey up close. They are impressive!

Bald Eagle residing at the National Eagle Center

These ambassadors include both bald eagles and a golden eagle showing how these two species vary. I could have spent more time just observing these now captive birds as they scanned the area for food and preened releasing some of their winter feathers. Eagles are so enjoyable to watch floating in the air or even just perched in a tree. To be able to do that up close was such a treat.

Falcon

As part of the migration festivities, the Wild Bird Sanctuary brought some other birds of prey to show which was really interesting. One of those birds was a falcon with beautiful colors and fun to watch as it flew across the auditorium from one handler to the next. In addition to the Wild Bird Sancutary, the National Eagle Center had displays which included beautiful photos in their art gallery, US Fish and Wildlife displays of some of the bugs found in that area, and even a little Saw-whet owl on display. What an amazing and friendly little owl.

Saw-Whet Owl

There are a number of displays showing birds of prey and other features of the area landscape these animals live in. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the area!

A Barn Owl

Spring Eagle Migration

A couple of weeks ago I spent a Saturday in Wabasha, Minnesota photographing Bald Eagles as they return north after the cold winter. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha tracks Eagle numbers throughout March and the count for this weekend looked really good provided many opportunities to watch these magnificent birds of prey. After finishing my commitments on Friday night I quickly ran around the house gathering equipment and gear I might need for a day along the Mighty Mississippi tracking and photographing Eagles.

Awaking well before dawn, on a short nights rest, I got my remaining gear and some food together and headed out the door. It was just after 4:45am which would give me enough time to make the nearly 2 hour drive to Wabasha and arrive there to see the sun rise above the horizon as Eagles begin to take to the sky for the day. It was a nice day for an adventure with temperatures reaching above freezing making for a comfortable day outside without excessive layers of clothes. The drive went by quickly with the horizon beginning to cast light into drifting clouds as I got closer bringing out some beautiful pinks in the sky. Reaching the first stop for the day at Reeds Landing, the sun was only moments from breaking above the trees across the river. Getting set up to take some pictures of the sunrise, Eagles were already flying above distracting me from the first mornings’ light.

Sunrise over the Mississippi River

While the sun continued to rise I attempted to capture an Eagle in the photo as they flew overhead but was unsuccessful as it was still too dark and the Eagles turned out blurry so I returned to focus only on the sunrise for the time being. One of the nice things about Eagle watching at that time of year is if you see a large bird, it’s likely an Eagle. During much of the summer I’m often fooled by larger birds that turn out to be Turkey Vultures and then disappointed. In a short time the light from the rising sun increased enough to begin capturing birds in flight. Just at that time a young one flew into view heading right in my direction. Focusing the camera on it I began to snap away getting some beautiful photos as it got closer. The result is the picture at the top of this post.

Looking through the trees

The biggest challenge of photographing these Eagles is to find a spot to get close enough for some great photos. Often times they will fly away from you or land on the other side of the river where they are too far away to get great shots. Even with that, opportunities did become available from time to time. The trick was to be ready and have the camera settings right for the situation. Sometimes it works out and other times I was frustrated with a blurry shot wanting to slam the camera and lens to the ground. All in all it was a lot of fun to photograph these beautiful birds and watch as they interacted with each other and flew overhead. Listening to their calls, which sounds very little like the sounds you hear on TV shows, wondering what they’re saying to each other. Sometimes they called one another to the tree they’re in and other times it was letting anther Eagle know they are not welcome to land in that tree. But many of the calls I couldn’t figure out the purpose of.

Soaring in the blue sky

After awhile the Eagles seem to move away from an area requiring getting back into the vehicle to search for more elsewhere along the river. There are several nests in this area also. These are quite impressive to see as they’re so large. Almost like a tree fort. All of this just for an little Eagle or two. These nests are constructed over several years, increasing in size each time. There was one nest being guarded by an Eagle giving some perspective on how large the nest is.

Watching over the nest

Throughout the day there were many Eagles soaring in the warming sun. Every once in awhile there would be a couple of birds arguing over a particular fishing spot or certain territory in a tree or on the remaining ice along the river making for some interesting and entertaining behavior. Several times I attempted to capture this with the camera but often it was over before I could capture the event. There were a few that I managed to photograph but they were often far away allowing the Eagles to avoid a close-up shot. The picture below is one of the best shots I managed to capture. These two were arguing over this location on the ice. It lasted for less than a minute.

Fighting for ice space

As the day got later I continued to work on capturing an Eagle swooping down to catch a fish. Unfortunately I had little success. The bird, captured below, has a fish in it’s talons while heading to a tree away from all the other birds to feast without being disturbed by another Eagle trying to steal the fresh meal. I watched this one gliding over the water and then circle around before plucking a fish out of the river all the while snapping away. Unfortunately those pictures are all a little blurry and the actual moment of catching the fish was missed. I have a photo of the Eagle touching the water and another one just after it caught the fish. While it’s nice to see those shots, it’s also disappointing as they are not great compositionally or completely in focus. Something to continue to work on. Even after this bird caught the fish I didn’t stop tracking it and luckily I didn’t. It ended up flying almost overhead as it headed towards the hills behind me giving me more opportunities to grab a picture with a fish in the talons.

Retreating to a treat to feast on a freshly caught fish

Near the end of the day the light was getting too low for good picture taking of the Eagles so I headed to a spot to enjoy the last rays of the sun for the day before making the trek back home. Thankfully it was a beautiful sunset over the vast Mississippi River as you can see in the small Panorama below.

Sun setting over the Mississippi from above

Eagle Watching

A cool, crisp late fall day under a bright mid-morning sun seemed like a perfect setting to get out on my bike and put in a few miles before completing some projects. Just a couple of miles in brought me by a large lake partially frozen over where on eagle sat watching over the water for a potential meal while a brave crow tried to scare it away. It would have been nice to have my camera with as this eagle was relatively close and didn’t seem to care I was there watching. Without anything more than my phone I snapped a few photos and continued on my way. Another couple of miles brought me to more open water with hundreds of ducks floating on it. I decided a quick look would be nice and that’s when I began to see a few more eagles flying overhead.

 

A place to eat the catch of the day

Stopping to take in the scene and try to figure out what kind of ducks where swimming in the water I began to notice even more eagles perched in trees nearby. As I watched more I saw one eagle after another. Some flying while others remained perched in trees. Counting there were over two dozen eagles in this one little area. Must have been migrating south as the lakes and rivers began to freeze over further north. At this point I was really missing my camera as there were some amazing shots waiting to be taken here. After a little more time I decided it was time to head for home as there was much to do. As I was leaving the eagles let me ride right underneath the trees they were perched in. Amazing birds to view up close!

A juvenile eagle landing in a nearby tree

On the way back home I decided I had to grab the camera and try to get a few photos of all of these eagles in one area. Quickly returning I found all of the eagles had left. Now what? With so much I needed to get done back home I decided a better plan of action was to drive around the area and see if I could find these eagles. After checking out several different spots and a few hours I eventually came across several eagles and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon watching them as they were really too far away for good photos. That of course did not stop me from trying which resulted in the pictures for this post.

Watching as a flock of ducks flies by

Over the course of an hour I counted about twelve different eagles photographing most of them and watching them through my telephoto lens as they circled the little open water that remained, caught fish, and flew to perches to eat their catch. In between eagles, flock and flock of ducks would fly over either entering the open water or leaving for another spot. Most of these appeared to be common mergansers with some ring-neck ducks mixed in. I’ve never seen so many common mergansers before. Unfortunately none of these eagles gave me much opportunity for a great shot but I still had a fun afternoon observing and learning how they interact. It would have been nice to spend many more days following this one in search of more eagles, looking for a beautiful shot but other priorities took over. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future to try again.

A juvenile coming in to land next to an adult