Oh my! What a fantastic creature and a pretty darned cool image of one as it banked hard to setup for a landing. This past weekend was an absolute treat as two dozen bald eagles descended on a suburban pond northeast of Denver, Colorado.

It was a rare occurrence but likely occurred due to the thawing of the pond being timed with the fish in it being close to the surface. They were tiny fish, not much more than a snack for this big raptor, but there were enough that eagle activity was insane. It was an absolute treat and one that I will remember for a long time.

Have a fantastic weekend!

As many times as I see raptors do this, I really don’t know how the heck they don’t hurt themselves. Those talons are so sharp and clearly meant for killing and yet bald eagles and others can use them to scratch themselves as casually as we do our fingers.

This particularly bald eagle put on quite a show at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, choosing a very public spot to hang out for the better part of two hours. I have no doubt it was the most photographed eagle in the state of Colorado that day.

I am very happy to see that this pair of bald eagles has been hanging out at the same nest they have occupied for the past three years. This past Saturday I spent a few hours just sitting and watching them.

The action was pretty much non-existent as they were content to just sit and soak up the sun but about mid-morning they did decide to change their roost and took flight. Here, the female departs with the nest seen in the background.

Now is a critical time for raptors as mating season is beginning. They are particularly sensitive to disturbances at this time and for the coming months and I do have some concerns for this site. Some homeless people have setup a camp a mere 10 yards away from the nest tree and that presence may very well cause this nest to fail.

I have tried for the past six months to work with the county to get the people moved but, unfortunately, have only received a lot of runaround. Have a fantastic weekend!

Probably not a view you want if you are a fish or prairie dog. 😉 For me though, I didn’t mind one bit.

Taken yesterday, the early afternoon light was pretty harsh but I think this capture is kind of a fun one. This pair was hanging out along the South Platte River, enjoying a mild winter’s day in Colorado. They finally decided it was time to fly with the female taking the lead and the male launching right behind her.

It is mating season for these majestic creatures and, with any luck, this spring will bring little ones into their lives.

Last Saturday I got me a new toy, a gently used Canon 5D Mark IV. This new camera is my highest resolution one yet, full frame, and has a top-notch autofocus system.

The day after picking it up, I went out to give it a test run and subject matter was lacking as I struggled to find the critters. However, this gorgeous eagle at St. Vrain State Park in northern Colorado gave enough of a show to give me a good feel of the performance of the camera.

Perched near the campgrounds, it launched, turned and flew right at me giving me a fantastic series of shots, including this one. The image is quite heavily cropped and yet still is very sharp. I’m impressed.

Boy, if looks could kill, this handsome fellow might have left me dead. Haha!

He and his mate were hanging out on an osprey stand in northern Colorado recently. They were very kind to me, giving me some fantastic poses of the two of them and then, this sequence of him as he departed.

Sometimes I will find wildlife that is entirely comfortable with human presence. Such was the case with this cool eagle two weeks ago. It was calmly perched, keeping watch over a field. While it did turn to look at me, other than this quick glance, it ignored me and continued surveying its domain. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

I am really pleased with this capture. Some great detail in there and a good look at the nictitating membrane, a second eyelid that many birds have to help keep their eyes clean.

It is prime time for these gorgeous raptors here and I am getting pics of them almost every time I venture out. So much fun! See more of them here.

Having already had a pretty good photo outing, I was tempted to head for home as it was late morning and the light was getting harsh. I decided though to try one more spot, one where I have seen quite a few of my favorite raptors lately.

Driving along a suburban street, I see the form of some sort of large bird silhouetted in some trees so quickly turn and stop to investigate. Much to be surprise – and delight – I find this handsome fellow chomping down on a prairie dog while perched in someone’s backyard.

It was so focused on the meal at hand, it totally ignored me and my friend as we happily captured images of it eating.

I know some folks will find these images a bit too graphic but, this is life – and death – in nature; the proverbial ‘circle of life’ as it were, and something that takes place everywhere around us. 

I suppose it couldn’t be more fitting than that the last pictures I took in 2018 were of my favorite photo subject, the American Bald Eagle.

Given frigid cold temperatures and blowing snow, my photo excursion had not been very good yesterday. As I was nearing home, I decided to check some local spots that these raptors like to hang out in during the winter months and was happy to have found this pretty lady.

She was initially in an open field but immediately left so I followed her and found her again sitting on a post adjacent to a suburban pond. She didn’t give me a chance to get out from behind a bush to get a clear shot of her sitting but when she took flight, she circled back giving me a nice flyby.

It isn’t easy to get clear pics when it is snowing so I am pretty pleased with these captures given the conditions. What will my first pic of 2019 be? I am guessing more of the same. 😉