Freedom flight across Colorado’s infamous blue skies. It’s pretty tough to beat that deep blue above here in the Centennial State. However, when you throw in our nation’s emblem soaring with ease across it, the view just goes over the top. This fantastic bald eagle gave me a nice show this past weekend and makes for a great pic to share for Freedom Friday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

It was an absolutely awesome surprise to come across him and his mate recently in Estes Park, Colorado. The pair has a nest nearby and while I have occasionally seen them, I had never gotten good pics of them. On Saturday morning I was driving along and I spot one of them on a power pole and the other along a lake’s shoreline. After giving me a couple of fantastic flybys, this one goes and nabs a fish and gives me yet another flight sequence – this time with the fish in its talons and the Rocky Mountains serving as a backdrop. Fantastic!

Quite the look and pose, eh? Somewhat intimidating but in truth, this handsome fellow was just shaking himself off.

He is the male from a mated pair of eagles that hangs out near Longmont, Colorado. I spotted him in their usual favorite spot and while he gave me some nice poses like this one, there never was any real action. Myself and another photographer spent three hours waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

He however was quite content to pose in place, preen, shake and do just about anything except fly. Nevertheless, it was fun to get to spend some time with my absolute favorite form of wildlife.

I was flipping through some older pictures and came across a Bald Eagle launch sequence I had captured back in February 2017. This fantastic raptor was sitting high up on a high tension power line pole keeping watch on a nearby prairie dog colony.

I recall waiting and waiting and waiting for it to do something and was about to give up when it finally decided to take flight. I ended up with a nice, full sequence of images of it. This particular one was one of the first in the series not long after it leapt into action.

Have a great weekend and get out there and see some of all that Mother Nature has to offer!

Well, my last few photo outings have been pretty much duds. Subjects were non-existent or uncooperative or the resulting pics just sucked. So, I am jumping back to Tax Day for this image.

This is the male of my favorite mated pair of eagles. He had just returned from dropping off some nesting material and stopped and posed not long after sunrise.

Temperatures are cooling here in Colorado (finally) and while I am not anxious for the end of summer, it does mean the seasonal Eagles will be returning soon and that makes me happy.

Jumping back to February 18 for this picture for Freedom Friday. I visited one of my favorite Bald Eagle nests southwest of Denver, Colorado and spent the morning with the resident pair. Initially, they were nowhere to be found so I started driving around checking any place I thought they might be. Finally, I came across the male about a half mile away. He didn’t hang around but did head back toward the nest and so did I. There I found them both. Here is one shot of him just as he was leaping into that crisp, Colorado air.

Returning from a less than great photo drive on a dreary day two weekends ago, I spot two Bald Eagles in an area in which I normally only see eagles in the winter. I of course had to stop and investigate and much to my surprise, I knew them!

This is a mated pair from a nearby nest and I know this because the male (right) has distinctive dark spots on its head. You all have actually seen pictures of them many times in the past.

Unfortunately, this year, the nest failed early on so there were no offspring. I suspect that was the result of a couple of folks intruding on their nesting area too often and too close as I had witnessed more than once this spring. That is unfortunate as during mating season, they are particularly sensitive and it doesn’t take much to throw them off and ruin any chance of another generation of eagles.

I gave a couple gentle hints to the offenders this year but next year I won’t be so kind and likely will involve the authorities. It is fine to watch them and, depending on the situation, watch relatively closely but there are limits.

Oh my goodness this lady is just beautiful. She is the matriarch at one of the Bald Eagle nests I watch and is always impressive.

It is however somewhat unusual to see her doing housework, that is normally something the male does at this particular nest. On this morning, perhaps the male just got tired of doing everything and laid down the law, prompting her to go fetch a small stick to add to the home. 😉 Image taken back in April.

Bald eagles have been a spiritual symbol of Native Americans for hundreds of years. There were variations between tribes as to the eagles’ symbolism but for most it generally represented bravery, wisdom, strength and courage. It was believed that the eagles carried prayers to the Great Spirit.