Eagles in Western Washington?

[BobH]

Looking for a good spot to photograph eagles in Western WA. Tried the Skagit River on Friday, and had mediocre luck. On one hand, it's hard to complain about a day when you see over a dozen bald eagles. On the other hand, it's not so hard to complain about spending a 12 hour day trying to shoot and not getting anything worth printing...

My poor luck may have been due to high waters in the river. Considering trying again, but also looking for other options.

 

[Dave Cowell]

There have been tons of eagles lining the river at Nisqually NWR lately due to the salmon running, upwards of 60 eagles at a time. They're not the easiest birds to shoot because they're typically 1/4 mile away, but when they are active you can get in on some good action.

Dave

 

[ejones]

its all in the luck of timing. Last year at this tim I went to the upper Skagit to shoot the eagles and got squat. Heading south on 530 from Rockport to Darrington you cross a creek. As I approached the bridge I spy some one standing there with a rather large white lens on his camera. I slow down and as I go over the bridge a huge eagle comes up from the creek and more than fills the window of my truck. I pull over and grab me gear. The guy that was there got some great shots. Me,,, I hung out for 45 or so minutes and got nothing. Them be buggers just sat in the trees in the distance laughing at me.

 

[retief]

Went to the Nooksack River for the first time yesterday. Look for Welcome, WA on Google Maps. Just past Welcome look for Mosquito Lake Road, turn right. We saw more Eagles than all the photographers had fingers and toes just over the bridge. Lot's of Salmon in the river, looks like a very definite morning shot. You can cross the bridge, take the first road to the left, drive about 1.8 miles and there is a spot you can park on the river side. 4 more Eagles, 2 Adult 2 Juvenile sitting in a tree at eye level.

Drive the farm roads through the Skagit and Sammish flats. Near the East 90 is a house with several trees where I often see upwards of 15 Eagles perched.

 

[jimre]

Never had much luck on the Skagit from the shore. But from *on* the river in a boat - wow! Did a float trip for the first time just over a year ago, on Dec. 31. We counted 132 eagles, and I got quite a few nice photos:

Skagit River Eagles (Picasa web album)

 

[fiznatty]

I saw a ton of eagles in the flats along Bayview Edison Road today on my way to West 90. It was quite a surprise.

Max

 

[Tony S]

When I went down to my mom and dad's two weeks ago outside of Orting there were plenty of eagles on the upper Puyallup south of the Grange along Oroville Road. I didn't look, but most likely if they were on the Puyallup they would also be along the Carbon above the fish hatchery where there are some good spots around the trail near where the river crosses Hwy 162.

 

[BobH]

I saw a ton of eagles in the flats along Bayview Edison Road today on my way to West 90. It was quite a surprise.

Max

Oh, come on. There's not even a river down there. Just how many eagles can there be?

View attachment 8058

Uh, seven in one tree alone. Which is nearly as many as I saw all day up at Rockport. Too bad I ended the day here instead of starting it here, I would have had some decent pictures. I got there at about 4:00 and left at 5:00 probably saw 20 eagles, including two that flew across just in front of the car, then, just to add insult to injury, one of them swooped down into the field and grabbed something then flew off. Would have been a great image, if I had decent light.

I also saw so many hawks perched on the phone lines I stopped bothering to count them. I also saw several (ratty looking) eagles perched there too.

Oh, and as a special bonus bird, this guy was not more than 20 feet from the road. Photo taken from my car.

View attachment 8059

Yep, I was in the wrong location today...

 

[BobH]

Went to the Nooksack River for the first time yesterday. Look for Welcome, WA on Google Maps. Just past Welcome look for Mosquito Lake Road, turn right. We saw more Eagles than all the photographers had fingers and toes just over the bridge. Lot's of Salmon in the river, looks like a very definite morning shot. You can cross the bridge, take the first road to the left, drive about 1.8 miles and there is a spot you can park on the river side. 4 more Eagles, 2 Adult 2 Juvenile sitting in a tree at eye level.

Drive the farm roads through the Skagit and Sammish flats. Near the East 90 is a house with several trees where I often see upwards of 15 Eagles perched.

I've heard good things about Nooksack, but it sounded like there weren't a lot of good locations. How many photo spots did you find? Did you get any good photos? That place is so dang far away...

 

[ted262]

Leaving tomorrow for a weekend trip to Concrete. Doing the river tour Sunday morning...

Wish me luck!

 

[BobH]

Leaving tomorrow for a weekend trip to Concrete. Doing the river tour Sunday morning...

Wish me luck!

Ted, it's worth doing, I've enjoyed my visits. Also, everyone seems to agree that the best way to see the birds is from the water. They spook easily from the shore. Even though there's a busy highway nearby, they are very sensitive to people, and of course they have incredible vision. By the time you've see them, they've already spotted you.

I think that the next time I go, I'll do a float trip. The trick is trying to get one on a good day. The first day I visited it was very foggy, and my trip would have been in the fog. On the other hand, you may well be going in the snow, which could be really cool.

 

[BobH]

By the way, it's pretty certain that if you visit in the next couple of weeks, you'll see eagles. You'll probably see far more eagles than you normally would. Today alone I saw more eagles than I saw in a week in Alaska.

It's all a matter of perspective and expectations. You'll get some eagle shots. What's let certain is whether you'll get any shots that are "suitable for framing" or for publication.

I want shots of the eagles on the water, feeding and what would really be great would be a shot of a couple of them squabbling over a fish. Today I didn't see any of that, and I didn't get any eagle images that I'd consider printing big. So I didn't make the goal that I'd set for myself. But I did have a nice day outdoors and I had fun. So it's not all bad.

The area has potential. Very scenic, there are lots of eagles there, and you just have to hope you're in the right place at the right time.

 

[BobH]

Them be buggers just sat in the trees in the distance laughing at me.

Yep, I've seen plenty of that... "I'm perched in this tree, I'm nice and comfortable in my "down jacket", I've had lunch, and I can just hang out here all day. Let's see who lasts longer?"

 

[ted262]

Well, picking up the 80-400 for the D90 and the 300/f2.8 with TC1.4 for the D7000 at Glazers before I head up, so I'm hoping for good shots.

Anyone have any tips or suggestions?

 

[BobH]

Well, picking up the 80-400 for the D90 and the 300/f2.8 with TC1.4 for the D7000 at Glazers before I head up, so I'm hoping for good shots.

Anyone have any tips or suggestions?

Take long glass, which you're doing.

Get out there at sunrise, I've seen more eagles before 10 AM than I've seen the rest of the day. (But they are still around all day long, just not as active...)

 

[ted262]

Yeah, I've got the glass, just not the practice!

Taking the monopod and tripod, although I doubt either will do much good in the boat. I imagine I'm going to have a lot of blurry stuff until I get some settings figured out... This stuff's a lot different from taking photos of guys on a firing range or going through training exercises!

 

[BobH]

When I went down to my mom and dad's two weeks ago outside of Orting there were plenty of eagles on the upper Puyallup south of the Grange along Oroville Road. I didn't look, but most likely if they were on the Puyallup they would also be along the Carbon above the fish hatchery where there are some good spots around the trail near where the river crosses Hwy 162.

Tony for the win! This is a sample of what I found today on the Puyallup:

View attachment 8060

Keep in mind, photographing eagles is a lot like fishing. Yesterday's hotspot may well be today's dud. At one point I was within sight of at least 12 eagles, including 8 or 9 in one tree alone. Then a few minutes later the big group all flew off together, along with a couple others and I was left with two in sight. A fellow walks up and says "Not many eagles today, eh?" I replied with the words everyone hates to hear "You should have been here 1/2 hour ago..."

So, this fellow and I were at the same identical spot, on the same day, and arrived within an hour of one another. If you asked me how it was today I'd have said "Great, I probably saw 20 eagles, including 8 or 9 in that tree alone!" and he would have replied "Not a good day, I only saw two birds..." You'd have been left wondering whether I was a liar in the tradition of fishermen, he needed glasses, or we were both just plain nuts.

 

[BobH]

Yeah, I've got the glass, just not the practice!

Taking the monopod and tripod, although I doubt either will do much good in the boat. I imagine I'm going to have a lot of blurry stuff until I get some settings figured out... This stuff's a lot different from taking photos of guys on a firing range or going through training exercises!

The monopod may help, if just as a way to rest the camera while keeping it "at the ready". I've never done a float trip, so you'll have to try and determine whether it's better to hand hold, or to use the monopod resting on the floor of the raft. I doubt you'd have room for a tripod, but it could come in handy while on shore.

As for the settings, here's my suggestion:

1) Set the ISO as high as you're comfortable with. Unless you've got a really nice sunny day, that would probably be something like 800 or even 1600 if your camera has decent quality at that range.

2) Set the camera on aperature priority, and use the smallest aperature you can. Shallow depth of field will help isolate your subject, the eagle(s) from the background, which is typically branches and other clutter.

More importantly in this situation, it will help you get higher shutter speeds. I feel that the real priority is having a fast shutter speed, but I get there by shooting wide open. That way, I get the fastest shutter speed conditions will allow, and if the light improves a bit, the shutter speed will go higher, which is a good thing. If the light goes lower, I've already got my other two setting maxed out, so at that point I have to decide whether to up the ISO or go with a slower shutter speed.

You can, of course, do it the other way and set the shutter speed. It's all a matter of personal preference.

3) Check your shutter speed. I'd suggest trying for a shutter speed of 1/200 or faster, considering you're on a moving raft. The faster the better. If you're lucky, maybe you can get a bit faster than that.

Once you see what the shutter speed is, you can adjust the other settings as needed. On a dark and grey day, you may have to up the ISO. I was shooting at 1600 part of the time when I was there. I didn't like that, but a grainy but sharp photo is better than a blurry shot with less grain.

It's all a balancing act. If you've got bright sun, you may be able to drop the ISO a notch or even open up a stop. On the other hand, a faster shutter speed won't hurt anything, and may well help you get sharper shots.

 

[JaniceL]

One day I hope to get that special bald eagle shot. I know they are here in bigger numbers. I actually was on my deck in Lake Oswego (not near the water) and right overhead no more than 20 feet away flew an adult baldy, dang, dang, dang I missed the shot and could catch where he went. One of these days.

 

[BobH]

Here's another reason to try and get your shutter speed as high as possible. Check out this shot and see what you think.

View attachment 8064

At first glance, it looks like shallow depth of field, doesn't it?

Well, I don't own a 300 mm f 1.4. First of all, they don't exist, and even if they did, I couldn't afford one.

This shot is actually taken at f 10. That's certainly not going to cause blur by the end of this guy's wingtip. They're big, but not that big!

What caused the blur? Simple, the motion of the wingtips, he was flapping his wings, not gliding. Even though this shot is at 1/400th, even that wasn't fast enough to freeze the motion.

You may not object to a bit of blur. I actually kind of like it, and think it's a nice touch in this shot. But it also makes it hard to get the body sharp if you're much below 1/400th, and that's while standing on shore. From a moving boat I can only presume it will be even more challenging.