This was a first for me – three young eagles getting close to fledging. I have photographed nests with two, most often with only one. To have three survive to this stage is somewhat rare and a real treat to see.

This nest is a good ways away from me so I don’t visit it regularly but lacking any better ideas for my Sunday outing, I checked it out. It was slightly breezy which made for prime conditions for the trio to test out their wings and all did but they aren’t quite ready to fledge yet. One did catch some air while hopping up and down flapping which was fun to see although it seemed kind of surprised at its success.

National Bald Eagle Day is every June 20th and set aside to not only honor our national emblem, but also to raise awareness about the need to continue to protect these majestic animals. While they have made an amazing recovery thanks to conservation, there is still work to be done to ensure their continued survival.

Early American poet Joseph Rodman Drake wrote, “And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.” It is for the men and women who fill those honored graves that we celebrate Memorial Day today.

Take time to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to this Great Nation. Bow your head, say a prayer, thank God for them and teach your children about them, teach them what today’s holiday is really about.

A fun shot from February when this eagle and its mate spent several weeks hanging out in one particular area not far from their nest. They were always putting on a show as you can see here when this one moved from one pole to another, looking just amazing as it did.

I don’t get many pics of my favorite photo subject this time of year so this one goes back to mid-February. A pair of mated bald eagles with a nest a couple miles away had taken to frequenting a set of poles not far from Denver International Airport. For more than a month, they were reliable visitors and provided me with some great pics. Here, one of them leaps into the air on a mission to try to steal a rabbit from its mate on adjacent pole. It wasn’t successful but it did give me some cool captures. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Like this bald eagle, I am laser focused on getting through the workday today and making it to the weekend.

Going back to the end of February for this pic of this beautiful lady. She gave me a ton of great poses and flight shots on a bone-chillingly cold winter day making it totally worth suffering through the conditions.

I normally don’t like having so many trees branches as they can be distracting but she was so amazingly pretty and that look, wow!

Bam! Check out the focus on that face! Taken late last month on a bone-chilling cold morning, I was staying warm by constantly moving and photographing a bevy of bald eagles. This beautiful lady was the focus of my lens more than once as she put on many great shows. Multiple times she would launch and head out over the lake, circle for a bit to hunt, then return to the same perch. Each time she gave me some cool shots. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Bald eagle season has largely come to an end here in Colorado as most of the seasonal eagles have started their migration north. Certainly, the nesting eagles will continue to provide some photo ops, those will be far less frequent.

I captured images of this gorgeous transient this past weekend and, goodness, it put on a nice portrait session. As it rested up on this leg of its journey, it gave me shot after shot of nice poses. This one is probably my favorite. That amazing plumage, its eyes focused into the distance with the head turned and against the backdrop of our amazing blue Colorado skies made for a cool capture.

This beautiful bald eagle is wearing the face I am today as I do my best to just finish out the week without exploding. It has been a rough one but I am determined to make it through.

This image, taken a couple of weeks ago, shows one of many eagles I photographed that day. These animals can have a lot of personality, something shown here.

Have a fantastic Freedom Friday and hang in there, the workweek is almost over! TGIF!

Whoohoo! I am excited to report that following the death of the female at my favorite bald eagle nest late last year, a new one has recently been hanging out with the male.

A month or so ago, while looking at the nest from a very long distance, I thought I saw two eagles there but when I got closer, there were none to be found. My friend then reported that last weekend there were indeed two at the site. Yesterday I hiked in to see for myself and sure enough, the male seems to have a new girlfriend.

She only did one flyby before perching across the river but the pair spent a good bit of time hanging out together. He seemed to be trying to impress her by doing some nest maintenance, showing her it would make a fine home.

Will the pair connect in time to have young ones yet this year? That is unknown. It is kind of late as most nested eagles are already sitting on eggs now but it could yet happen. If not, it does at least bode well for the nest’s future.

If you look close at the picture, you will notice she has some darker colored areas on her cheek behind her eye. That would indicate she has just turned five years old and reached full maturity.

I am keeping my fingers crossed!

For those unfamiliar, I sadly discovered the previous female dead, beneath one of their favorite trees. Working with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, we retrieved the carcass and it was determined she had died from the bird flu that has been running rampant through bird populations across the nation.  You can read the full story here.