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Friday, April 5, 2013

Distraction!

Whenever I get out into the rural setting in the spring I tend to get focused on what's on the ground, those brilliant spring wildflowers such as I posted yesterday. I am also a little impatient of distractions so that earlier this week when I was zeroing in on the Shooting Stars a very loud sort of rusty squeaking kept breaking in on my concentration. Finally I looked up to see what could be making such a noise and there it was, in a nearby tree, a glorious Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). (Roger Tory Peterson in "A Field Guide to Western Birds" describes their call as "...a harsh, creaking cackle....") When I suddenly see something like this there is always a period of frantic activity (remove close-up lens, replace with telephoto lens, adjust ISO and aperture, lengthen tripod legs, etc.). At the same time it all has to be done calmly and quietly so as not to disturb the subject or destroy the equipment. With this eagle I barely got set up when he took off from the branch where he was sitting. But at least he left me this one clear shot to take home. There were actually three Bald Eagles cruising around above the summit of Mount Douglas that day, two of them apparently jousting for the attentions of the third.

5 comments:

Andy said...

Most of the time being in the right place at the right is is just pure dumb luck. Getting an excellent photo of an eagle in flight like takes photographer's skills like you have, to get a shot like this.

Stephanie said...

Great capture.

William Kendall said...

Wow! That is an incredible shot!

JoJo said...

This one took my breath away. They are majestic creatures.

Dean Lewis said...

What a spectacular shot!
It really captures just how big they are. Six-foot wingspan, and I'm not sure I've ever seen the tail-feathers so widely fanned out,kite-like.
The very yellow beak suggests to me a very healthy mature specimen. They are nesting and sitting on eggs these days with many view-able on webcams.