Edmonds Eagles 2014/15

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
What is really amazing is that I had the 1.4x teleconverter attached to the 100-400L zoom, which slows down the autofocus.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Monday (1/26/15) Terry and I were photographing birds along Willow Creek at the fish hatchery grounds when four crows flew overhead and started raising a racket. I turned around to see one of the eagles perched on the large dead spar. It had probably been bathing in the creek farther downstream where I have photographed it from the marsh viewing platforms. The eagle presented two lighting problems found in the PNW this time of year which mandate the use of exposure compensation.

Back lighting, which requires over exposure.
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Low angle side lighting, which requires under exposure.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Some shots of the Hutt Park eagles that Terry doesn't have.

Thursday (1/29) I ran into one carrying a limb back to the nest.
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The shots are over exposed as I did not have time to adjust the exposure compensation.
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One flew off as I was adjusting the exposure compensation to -1. The head is still slightly over-exposed.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The second eagle flew off and landed in a nearby tree. It remained there long enough for me to get a decent exposure setting.
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The tree has a great view of Puget Sound.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The adult flew off and landed in a tree not far from the nest. Its location was pointed out to me by some evil minions of the Dark Lord strafing the eagle.
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A juvie flew north past me but I could not get a shot. It circled back south and landed on the family spar in Hutt Park. It flew off before I could get up to the park for close-ups.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Terry and I visited the marsh Monday (2/9) after lunch. We noticed the Pt. Edwards pair of bald eagles perched together in the family tree at the top of Pine St., something we had not seen in quite some time. The size difference between the two is quite apparent in this photo with the larger female on the right.
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We were in no hurry to get up there and stopped off at the fish hatchery on the way. I eventually worked my way up to the eagles and got off two quick shots before repositioning myself for the $$$$ shot.
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I missed the $$$$ shot as the eagles took off and flew south while I was adjusting the camera settings. :mad:
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Terry O

Well-Known Member
Frustrating that they flew just before we could get set up!! :( The lighting was perfect - but no parking where I was.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wednesday (2/11) morning Terry and I saw a juvie fly south past the marsh.
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The Pt. Edwards adults had returned to their tree atop Pine St.
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This time Terry and I were able to get some shots after we drove up there. Although I was shooting at +1 exposure compensation due to the poor light, I still had to tweak the photos a little in Picasa.
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I experimented with under exposure for some artsy shots of the sun breaking through the clouds behind the eagles.
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I captured a hummer and the eagles in one photo by shooting at 1/500 and f/32 to get everything in focus. Look for the hummer perched on a branch of the tree in the lower left corner.
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Terry O

Well-Known Member
Nice shots, Bill. I like the shots with the bright clouds/sun background. The 'beauty part' of having your 100-400 zoom!
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Saturday afternoon (2/14) my son Daren and I stopped by the marsh and noticed two eagles soaring high over Pt. Edwards. One of them flew to the marsh and landed by one of the waterways to take a drink. I captured the approach and landing with my 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom.
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The eagle looked like it might stay awhile, so I dragged out the 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter. I attached them to the 5DIII and mounted the setup on my tripod for some 700mm shots from the #2 viewing platform. The shots did not turn out very well due to heat waves rising off the water, not a problem you would expect in mid February.
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I had transferred the 100-400L telephoto zoom to my 7D. The eagle took off north and flew quite close to us. I had to back off on the zoom to get the entire bird in the frame as it barely cleared the pine trees behind the board walk which leads out to the #1 viewing platform.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Tuesday (2/17) the eagles were perched atop one of the tall firs on the fish hatchery grounds.

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One was perched off the Senior Center at sunset.
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The eagle took off and headed over the Sound followed by its gull tourage.
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The eagle turned and dove, but I was in the wrong location on the fishing pier to finish photographing the dive sequence.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wednesday afternoon morning (2/18), one of the Pt. Edwards eagles was perched in the family tree at the top of Pine St. Due to the eagles' combination of dark brown and bright white feathers, I must over expose or under expose most of my shots. These shots were all over exposed due to the overcast.

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This tree is a good place to photograph the eagles as you can stand very close and not bother them.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thursday morning (2/19) I was parked on Sunset Ave. and noticed a lot of birds taking off from the Shell Creek spit. It put me on alert that something had disturbed the birds, such as a beach walker, train, or an eagle. A few minutes later an eagle flew south and made several passes and landings on the beach below me.

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The eagle made several passes and landings at the beach. The last one put the eagle in a position for me to get some good background shots. I had to shoot at 1/500 and f/32 to get both the railroad milepost marker and the eagle in focus.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The eagle took off and flew north back to Shell Creek spit, setting birds to flight along the way.
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It was joined by its mate. I believe it is the Hutt Park pair.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Friday (2/20) my son and I found one of the Pt. Edwards eagles perched on the piling off Marina Beach. It took off before I could drag my big lens out and headed towards us.
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The eagle got so close that I had to back off the telephoto zoom to keep it in focus as it flew over the off leash dog park.
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Its mate remained perched on the family tree on the bluff south of the dog park.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
When I drive down Sunset Ave., I always check a tree just off the corner of Edmonds St. for bald eagles.

Sunday afternoon (2/22/15) I found a sub adult perched in the tree. I estimate its age at three years since its head is not yet completely white. I don't think anyone else noticed the eagle until I started photographing it, then it drew quite a crowd.
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The eagle remained perched on the tree for over an hour, which gave me the opportunity to take several different shots.

Strafed by the evil minions of the Dark Lord.
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Strafed by a model plane. It was actually a real plane at a far distance, but the compression factor of the long end of the 100-400L telephoto zoom created a different effect. Telephoto compression is often used by movie makers to create special visual effects.
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An adult eagle flew north at an extremely high altitude. We initially did not know what it was, as it was flapping its wings continually like a cormorant in flight. Bald eagles usually do more gliding and soaring than flapping. The eagle was working hard as zooming in on the photo showed its mouth wide open as though it were breathing heavily.
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The sub adult took off and headed north. I just missed its moment of departure, which was more of a horizontal, gliding takeoff than the more spectacular upward liftoff.
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You guys are getting some really good eagle shots up there!

I saw it as a real plane off in the distance before I read that you thought it looked like a model plane due to the compression factor.

All great shots!



Chad
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Friday afternoon (2/27) one of the Hutt Park eagles was perched in the grove of firs near the Shell Creek spit. It received small mild harassment by two evil minions of the Dark Lord before taking off.

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Back lighting on the overcast day made photographing the eagle tricky.
 
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