A fun bit of action from this past weekend although the light was cruddy so the pics aren’t the best quality. This adult bald eagle had caught itself a nice rabbit for breakfast and was trying to enjoy the meal in peace. However, it drew the attention of a sub-adult bald eagle wanting it to share. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen but that didn’t stop the young one from trying. Three times it made passes at the adult, hoping it would drop the rabbit. It never did, however, and the sub adult soon moved off to find its own meal.
Bald eagle sounds the alarm: It’s Freedom Friday!
Hang in there – the weekend is almost here as this handsome fellow proclaims the news. Taken last month on a visit to my local bald eagle nest, the male was not a happy camper. An intruder had dared to encroach on its territory, and he was making sure they knew it was time to leave. Bald eagles are generally sociable – except during nesting season. His mate had just started sitting on their eggs and protecting them and providing for them becomes his sole focus.
Mama hunkered down on the nest
As regular viewers of my page know, I oftentimes share less than great pics because of the story behind them. Clearly that is the case with this cruddy one. 😀
My friend and I spent two and a half hours at my favorite bald eagle nest yesterday morning, growing more and more concerned. There was no sign of mom and dad was content to hang out about a quarter mile away, watching from a distance. We finally gave up and decided to head out a different direction, looking back as went but still not seeing her.
On our return we kept watch and from a long way away, thought maybe, just perhaps, we were finally seeing something in the nest. Sure enough, there was just a bit of her white head and her yellow beak! It only appeared briefly but she was indeed in the nest, presumably still incubating. Thank goodness!
Those eggs should be hatching this week and if all goes well, activity at the nest will pick up as they work to feed the little ones. It is clear that this year, they have built up the “front” of the nest preventing a view into it and the nest bowl is on the back side. That will certainly prove limiting and might prevent getting a look at the bobbleheads for a few weeks until they get bigger. That is frustrating but I am glad that for now, all appears to be okay.
The second picture is dad, from his perch south of the nest. He was quite content to hang out over the trail, watching the walkers and bikers go by.
Bald eagle on patrol
Flipping through pictures last night, I came across this absolute gem I haven’t shared yet. Taken back in mid-January, I was on my way home from work and came across this beautiful lady and her mate. Perched on power poles along the South Platte River, it wasn’t a great scene but it was relatively warm and I had the time so I hiked in to have a look.
She was getting kind of antsy so I had a feeling she was going to leave and she did. But I have learned to wait when they do. Oftentimes they come back and while she went up the river a ways, sure enough, she did. Her eyes were focused on the river, apparently scouting for a meal. In doing so, she flew right at me giving me a great look at her as she looked below.
My friend, Patrick, laments the solid blue skies we oftentimes see here in Colorado as they don’t make for good backgrounds of birds in flight. I don’t disagree and on this shot, you can see how a few, distant clouds can really add to an image. This is a capture I really love.
Video: Bald eagles get down and dirty
Ah yes, love was in the air on this cold morning. ? Long shots and heavily cropped but fun to see.
Suburban bald eagle giving ‘the stare’
There are quite a few folks in Thornton, Colorado that have pics of this pretty lady from today. It was hanging out at Trail Winds Recreation Center this morning, people-watching the soccer game, the dog park, walkers and bikers.
My friend and I spotted as we were heading to photograph some different creatures and of course had to check it out. She was quite relaxed despite the fact there was quite a bit of activity. She hung out for at least a couple of hours, certainly longer than we were willing to wait for her to do more than sit and look regal. 😉
I certainly get plenty of action-packed shots of these guys but it is always cool to see one hanging out in suburbia, tolerant of the bipedal creatures below.
Gull chases a bald eagle screaming, “Get off my lawn!”
A fun shot from an after-work photo stop this past week. Some eagles have been hanging out at a couple of local lakes, usually in spots out of reach though. As I was giving up and head for home, I came across this gorgeous adult, perched right near the road.
I got some nice portraits before it took flight. It then went out, circled the lake, and came right back, flying near a bunch of gulls. Well, one of the littler birds did not take too kindly to the intrusion and chased the eagle, making sure the monstrous raptor knew it wasn’t welcome in the neighborhood.
Despite poor lighting, it made for a fun sequence of images, particularly this one with the gull squawking and the eagle doing its best to ignore it.
Bald eagle food fight!
What a crazy fun scene to witness. I was photographing a bald eagle that was devouring the remainders of a rabbit. Nearby, a sub-adult eagle was watching, waiting for its opportunity to steal the meal. It launched, going right at the adult, forcing it to drop the meal and fly off of its perch. It was a crazy, hectic scene and I managed to capture it all.
If you look closely, the rabbit falls in two bigger pieces. One falls down to the ground which the adult tried to catch but could not. But, look at the moment the two eagles meet face to face. The sub-adult actually snagged one of the pieces out of mid-air! It would go on to another perch and finish its hard-won meal.
Mama bald eagle takes a leap out of the nest
The new lady of the house is looking pretty good, eh? Taken a couple of weeks ago, soon after her mate returned home, she decided it was time to stretch her wings and departed for a little while. I am pretty sure they had eggs at that time and if so, it will be another three weeks or so until they hatch. I will be hoping all goes well!
Regal bald eagle shows off
Oh yeah, this guy was all that and a bag of chips to say the least! 😀
This is the male at my favorite bald eagle nest, puffing his chest out and letting us know he is large and in charge. He normally isn’t one to make himself so readily available for portrait work, preferring to play the tough guardian and keeping his distance. Sunday, much to my surprise, he opted to hang out right over the trail, surveying his domain and looking down on those pesky humans as they went by.
This will be the seventh year of me watching this nest and I can’t begin to describe how much enjoyment I have gotten out of it. To have witnessed the triumphs and tragedies over that time is something I treasure.