This is a pretty darned fun capture I think. These six were hanging out in this tree along the shoreline of Jackson Lake State Park on Colorado’s northeastern plains last Friday. I’m sitting on the ground just enjoying watching them when suddenly the top, adult eagle decides it is time to go. That was enough to convince the others to depart as well leading to this image of all of them as they started to leap into the air.
The action is fun but one of the coolest things about the image is that it does a nice job showing the different plumage of Bald Eagles at various ages all in one capture. The bottom left two would be between 1 and 2 years old still having the dark heads they were born with. The bottom right two are about 3 years old and getting their white heads and yellow beaks. The upper two are full adults, showcasing the distinctive plumage that we are all familiar with on these majestic raptors.
