A bit of an educational piece for those unaware.

Bald eagles don’t get their famous, white heads until they are between four and five years old. When they first fledge from the nest, they are entirely brown. Over the intervening years, they undergo a gradual transformation into the eagles we all envision as our national emblem. In this image, taken this past Friday of three eagles sitting together, you can see how they change.

On the right, the youngest bald eagle, coming up on its first birthday. On the left, a second year eagle, showing white on its back and wings and a lightening of the feathers on the head. In the middle, a three-year-old, starting to get that white head but still showing streaks of brown (I call them dirty heads – haha). Not seen is a four-year-old which would look pretty close to an adult with only a slight bit of dark left in its head.

At the time I took the image, I didn’t realize what a cool opportunity it was to showcase the differences and now I kind of regret not spending more time trying to get a better shot of them. Nevertheless, this does a nice job demonstrating the differences.

At the end of my photo excursion last Saturday I came across four bald eagles dining on a dead duck on a frozen pond. For no apparent reason, the eagles took flight, leaving their meal on the ice.

One, however, was not ready to be done eating.  It circled a couple of times then came in and in an impressive display, came down, extended its talons and nabbed the deceased waterfowl without missing a beat.

It was a long shot, skies were dim and a bit of a snow squall made for tough shooting. But, in the end, I captured 40 or 50 shots of the entire sequence which, while not the greatest quality, make for fun viewing. Here is a sampling of the action. One of my “content over quality” postings.

On the way home from work last week, I spotted three bald eagles on a frozen pond. That of course necessitated a photo stop.

After a while, the trio took off, two of them landing in some distant trees. I, of course, followed. One of the three was rather unsettled, preferring to fly around. Soon, it decided it was ready to land but wasn’t wanting to pick an open landing spot, instead, preferring a spot that was taken by one of its friends.

As it approached, it extended its talons while the current occupant leaped into the air and onto its back, extending its talons to defend itself. A fun scene to witness and photograph. In the end, neither got the perch as the pair flew off, in a game of chase.

The follow up image to the amusing one I shared this morning. Before the eagle decided to try to hide from me by going down the opposite of the hill, it did give me some cool poses.

Here, it strikes quite the regal pose and looks gorgeous on the snow with the Rocky Mountains serving as a fitting backdrop. As I mentioned in the other image, it was a really long shot so this is heavily cropped but still worth sharing.

Yeah, I don’t think this bald eagle much appreciated my presence. In fact, it tried to hide from me – truly.

It was initially perched at the top of the hill and after letting me grab some quick pics, it purposefully walked down the opposite side of the hill. I sat tight, hoping I might catch it flying off but instead, it popped its head back up, looking right at me! So funny I was absolutely giggling as I shot the picture.

I’ll share pics of it posing regally on top of the hill later. It was a beautiful scene with the fresh snow and mountains in the background. This was a long, long shot so while the pics won’t be good for any big prints, it at least came out well enough to share online along with the fun story.

My last decent pic of 2022 as we enter the final hours of the year. I did go out today but, well, let’s not talk about the poor outing that was. Haha. Taken yesterday, this pair and a few juveniles were hanging out not far from my house, providing a nice photo op to end the day. One eagle returned to the roost and in doing so sounded with its mate, a sound that I love to hear. As we close things out, I thank you all for your continued support. I do my photography just for fun and am always happy to see others enjoy it. I wish you all the very best for a happy, prosperous and healthy new year!

Continuing my recap of top shots from my photo year, we now come to my favorite photo subject. Bald eagles are, to me, extraordinary creatures and being our national emblem makes them hold a special place in the heart. Humans nearly destroyed the species but, thankfully, we realized the folly of our ways and their recovery has been extraordinary. While seeing one used to be a rarity, it isn’t hard to find them anymore and for that I am thankful. Of course it is Freedom Friday so this is the appropriate day to share this.

Bald eagle focused on the approach to landing. Quite the handsome fellow and looking determined for sure! I really loved the light and the skies in this one, the light blue and thing cirrus clouds in the background make the eagle really pop.

My photo excursions this past weekend were limited due to work but I did manage to get out a bit yesterday. The destination was this bald eagle nest southwest of Denver and the pair put on a fantastic show for me. Here, the male approaches and prepares to join his mate.

You will notice the area of disturbed feathers on his back. I have shared pictures of him before showing this same feature. He is sporting the latest in GPS monitoring technology as part of a study being conducted by Colorado Parks & Wildlife to better understand the movements of our national emblem in the state and how our exploding population and growth is impacting them.

A bit of bald eagle attitude for Freedom Friday.

I spotted this handsome fellow and his mate hanging out in some trees that they tend to frequent above a rural-ish house. The eagles don’t mind the property owners or their dog one bit which is good because given the location where they perch, the homeowners have no choice but to walk right under them when outside.

Naturally I had to stop and take some pics and, as they have done in the past, the homeowners invited me to come on their property to get on the better side of the light. That was, of course, an opportunity I wasn’t going to pass up.

While the pair never did much beyond pose, it was fun to see them and I particularly like this glare the male gave me as I left. I get that look a lot from my photo subjects and, for that matter, most humans I interact with too. Not sure why. 😉

Yeah, it’s Monday and I sure as heck am not as motivated as this young one was on Saturday. 😉

It has been hanging out a good bit recently in a spot that overlooks a large prairie dog colony. No doubt it recognizes that as a prime food source. After posing for a while, sure enough, it launched toward the field and managed to nab itself one of the little rodents.

Unfortunately for this young eagle, an adult was watching from the other side of the field and pursued it, making it drop its breakfast and leaving both without a meal.