It has been since February that I last saw the golden eagles at this spot in Boulder County, Colorado. I had just about given up hope, thinking they had moved on. Two weekends ago I finally saw them again and then again this past weekend.

As always, it was pretty uncooperative when it came to pictures, hanging out well-buried within a tree’s branches initially. After an hour it took flight, naturally at an angle that prevented me getting pics. It did then roost for a few minutes on top of a utility pole giving me a few more poses though.

Hopefully it will continue to hang out in this spot and I will get more photo ops with it.

An absolutely impressive and stunning creature! The golden eagle is the largest bird of prey in North America and one of the largest worldwide. I love bald eagles as everyone knows but golden eagles, my goodness, they are, dare I say, just a bit more impressive.

This one, Aurora, is a captive bird that suffered a broken wing. While it can fly, it can’t get lift and as such isn’t a candidate for release in the wild and is now in the care of Nature’s Educators.

An event at their facility gave me a great opportunity to get up close and personal and get some nice closeups. It also gave me a nice chance to use my Tamron Lenses USA SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 which I love for the amazing detail it allows me to capture.

Ah yes, it is the day for lovers and this pair was getting started a bit early this past Sunday.

The images of the activity are, quite frankly, pretty poor and I was very disappointed in them. Light was very low, there was a lot of haze / fog and the eagles were just too far off. Nevertheless, I share them because it was a very fun encounter and something I had not witnessed with goldens before. I suspect very few people have in fact.

When I arrived at this spot in the Colorado foothills, the make was perched alone and on a different post. Not two minutes later, she arrived, circling him twice then landing on the other pole. That, apparently, was all the invitation he needed. They mated twice over the next few hours.

The first image in this series is from the first time and the poorest quality pic. However, the symmetry of their positions is pretty neat and something I was happy to have captured. The rest of the images are from their second attempt when lighting was slightly better.

What a charmed day this was. It had been nearly a year since I saw a golden eagle at this spot in Colorado’s Front Range foothills. Honestly, I had just about given up, thinking the ones that used to hang out there had moved on for good.

This past Sunday though I was very excited to find not one, not two, but three goldens all within a half mile of each other. Two of them were perched on adjacent poles.

I spent more than an hour watching and waiting for them to do something other than just looking handsome. Finally, the closest one took off and I was lucky to grab a number of images as it did. It truly was an impressive sight.

Golden Eagles are one of the continent’s largest raptors with a wingspan of up to seven feet. It’s hard to imagine just how big they are until you see one in person.

I haven’t had much luck finding any of these massive raptors in recent months so when I happened across this one recently, I was very happy.

It was a long ways out in a fenced off field but I took advantage of the opportunity to grab some pics as it ate breakfast. The eagle had snagged itself a rabbit and was enjoying the meal while the Magpies hung out, hoping for leftovers.

Once it was done, it briefly landed in a nearby tree giving me my best shot of the series. Otherwise, the images weren’t all that great but it was well worth the time to stop and watch.

Oh, my friend, where are you? This gorgeous eagle that hangs out in the Colorado Front Range foothills has given me many great captures over the last few years. You have in turn seen it via those images.

Unfortunately, it has now been eight months since I last spotted it and I’ve been to the area at least a dozen times. I’m not ready to give up yet though. Seeing the massive raptor was never a sure thing so I am hoping I just have had bad timing.

This particular image was taken almost one year ago on November 4, 2017.

These eagles are one of the largest and fastest raptors in North America. With wingspans that can exceed seven feet across and capable of speeds to 200mph, they are nothing short of impressive. It is little wonder that they are the most common official national animal in the world with Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and Kazakhstan all choosing it to represent them.