I always made fun of people who were into birds.
"Birds? What are you, 90?!!!" - That was always my response when a buddy of mine would talk about how he loved to watch them.
So- here we are - 30 years later, and now Im the one who is out there watching them, camera in hand. My only defense is this: I only watch BALD EAGLES. Why? Because these ain't no woodpeckers, or threshers, or any of those other wussy birds! THESE, are THE birds. The national bird. And so yeah, I venture into the woods in several different places to photograph them. It's peaceful. It's quiet. And it's social distancing- which is a bonus. Lastly- these birds are sometimes close to three feet tall, with wingspans that can reach over 7 feet wide. And with that in mind- here's some of my latest shots.
Pretty rare to catch two in one shot. This was pure luck. I was following the bird on the left, shooting as I panned right to left - when the other bird flew into the frame. Boom. My luck.
Waiting for the eggs to hatch.
That's the female leaving the nest, just after the male arrived to give her a break from sitting on the eggs. The female bald eagle is almost always bigger than the male. Sometimes much bigger.
When they build a nest, sometimes eagles fly at a small branch and try to break it mid flight- and carry back to the nest. He failed on this attempt- but I got this shot as he went in for the grab.
Look closely. Someone is taking their life into their own hands. One wrong move- and it's toast...
Mom feeds the babies.
This right here- is a big bird. 7 ft wingspan, easy.
I've seen some pretty cool stuff watching bald eagles. I've seen them get attacked by other eagles and birds, I've seen them dote on each other and their babies, and I've seen them work together building and rebuiding nests. It's strange how much like humans they are! I've seem them have fights where the female starts sqawking at the male unmercilessly- and it's hilarious!
Hope you like the pics-
For more of my photo work- check out www.kretchy.com -
Thanks
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