Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
I don’t imagine too many folks are starting out the day today with as much energy and vigor as this eagle is showing. Certainly I know I do not on most Mondays. 😉
This is another shot of the male of a pair of bald eagles that I got to spend some quality time with a few weeks ago. He put on a nice show, including this launch.
Holy moly! Quite an amazing flyby this handsome fellow gave me and a perfect image for Freedom Friday.
As the sun came up I was watching him as he surveyed the lake from an adjacent tree. Just as the sun was popping over the horizon, he decided to go for a quick tour and departed. I was bummed he left so early and I decided I should wait and watch to see if by chance he would return.
Sure enough, after scouting the far side of the lake, he started flying back and returned to his original perch. As he came by, I grabbed a fantastic series of him lit up in the golden light of the rising sun. Just awesome!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Normally backlighting is not desirable in photography and certainly I probably would have preferred direct lighting for this shot but I actually kind of like how it turned out.
The subtle, rim of light on the leading edge of the eagle’s head, chest, wings and tail provide some interest to the shadowed figure.
This is the same eagle I posted a picture of this morning as it returned from a quick tour of the lake.
Finally! It had been a while since I had a quality photo session with my favorite subject, the bald eagle.
This past Sunday I was intent on fixing that and headed to northern Colorado and one of the spots I have my best luck and a pair of eagles that I have photographed many times.
Arriving at the lake near their nest, the male was sitting in his favorite spot, just keeping watch. I spent a good bit of time photographing him before he relocated to another tree, with me following of course.
After a while, the female did a flyby, going to the original perch. He, of course, wanted to join his mate and took off after her, this being an image of him as he flew by at close range.
The lighting was near perfect and I was able to capture some of the exquisite detail of his plumage from the white head back and across those massive wings. In the end the pair gave me tons of poses and a few launches and flybys yielding some very nice images – and giving me my bald eagle fix for a little while.
Of course my picture for the day had to be of the bald eagle, our national emblem. 😉
It has been 244 years since we declared our freedom from an oppressive king and began a new experiment in governance. The journey since that day has not been easy nor has it been perfect but I do believe we have the privilege of living in the greatest nation on the face of this earth.
Someone once said, there is far more that unites us than divides us and even in times like these that is true.
When politicians of all ilk, extremists and the media seek to sow the seeds of dissension between us, we need to remember we are all brothers and sisters, we are all Americans. We the people make up the fabric of this nation and it is up to us to not let anyone tear it or us apart.
A bit of a throwback image to Leap Day.
It was a chilly morning but I made my way to my local bald eagle nest for some quality time with the mated pair that lives there. They had been busy working on the nest, preparing for mating season and hopefully little ones.
Alas, the nest ended up failing, I suspect due to a competing male bald eagle that harassed them quite a bit. This past season that is a story that I heard from a few other eagle nest watchers here on the Colorado Front Range. Speculation is that as bald eagle populations continue to rebound, the increased numbers bring increased competition for nesting sites and mates.
It was very disheartening to have this happen but I still see the pair in the area every now and then and am hopeful they will give it another shot this winter.
Stunning! This handsome fellow looked simply gorgeous as he looked into the rising sun last weekend.
He and his mate used to be regulars at this lake in northern Colorado but for the past year or so, they haven’t been hanging around there much. I have now seen at least one of them there the last couple of visits so hopefully they are starting to return to their old stomping grounds.
Over the years they have given me some amazing photo opportunities like this.
Maybe the eagle wasn’t social distancing properly or perhaps they just didn’t want any neighbors, but a bunch of red-winged blackbirds let this eagle know its presence wasn’t welcome.
I visited a lake in northern Colorado where one of my favorite pairs of bald eagles hangs out. As the sun rose, the male was hanging out in one of their favorite trees. I snapped some pics of him but then the neighboring red-winged blackbirds started dive-bombing him.
He waived the white flag and flew off, doing a quick tour of the lake, and then relocating to a tree a ways away from the first. This was fine by me as the new perch gave me a nice, clear view.
Well, unfortunately for the eagle, it wasn’t long until the blackbirds showed up again and began hassling him. He demonstrated a lot of patience, dealing with their incessant cackling at him. When that didn’t work, the blackbirds became more aggressive, taking turns dive-bombing at him and at times actually pecking him.
That was enough for the eagle and he headed off to the other side of the lake for quieter environs with, hopefully, friendlier neighbors.
It seems fitting to share an image of our national emblem on Memorial Day.
These gorgeous creatures and the men and women that have served our nation in uniform are symbols of freedom, of hope, of the indomitable spirit of the United States of America.
Today we honor those that have given that last full measure of devotion in service to our country. We promise to never forget their sacrifice and to honor them by continuing to defend this great nation.
Take the time today to reflect on the over 1,000,000 men and women that gave their lives on battlefields from Concord to Khe Sanh, Antietam to Anzio and the Chosin Reservoir to the mountains of Tora Bora. The least we can do is give thanks and say a prayer for them.
Okay, I admit that is rather juvenile but it cracks me up. 😀
A couple of weeks ago in the pre-dawn hours as I headed to my photo destination, I spotted these two bald eagles. It wasn’t until I got home and downloaded the pics that I realized the crappy situation the bottom eagle was in.
On the plus side, I returned to the spot a couple hours later and discovered the pair had a nest not far away. While it apparently was not successful this season, I will certainly be checking it next year.
