PNWPhotos.com a friendly and growing community of photographers with an interest in the Pacific Northwest region.
We feature a Photography Discussion Forum and Pacific Northwest Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other photographers, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more!
The eagle crashed the party, putting an abrupt end to the food fight.
The eagle scooped up the piece of crab that the gull had dropped in the water .....
.... and flew the crab morsel back to the piling where it ate it.
Two pelagic cormorants floating in the Sound dove for cover as the eagle neared them.
The action happened so quickly that I was unable to dial back my exposure setting to compensate for the low afternoon sunlight reflecting off the bright, white feathers of the gulls and eagle. The eagle later flew over the marina so low and so close that my telephoto lens was unable to focus on it. It was headed toward the marsh, where it might have stopped to take a bath in Willow Creek and wash off the salt water.
Last Saturday (3/7) I saw one of the Pt. Edwards eagles sitting in its nest. I don't know if it has laid eggs, as later in the day I saw at three, possibly four adults circling high over Pt. Edwards, the marina, and the marsh.
Monday afternoon (3/9) I was at Brackett's Landing and photographed one of the Hutt Park pair perched on the family spar at Hutt Park, at least a mile away as the eagle flies.
A little later a (first year?) juvie circled over town. It is that time of year when juvies start appearing in Edmonds, much to the consternation of the resident adult breeding pairs.
Possibly. I have no idea what the juvies do after they leave the nest other than they have 3-4 years of "freedom" before they start looking for mates and nesting territories.
Thursday afternoon (3/19) the Pt.Edwards eagles were chasing each other over the marina. I last saw them flying southeast over the marsh back towards Pt. Edwards. I later got a report from Debbie Lynne Chally that they had flown side-by-side over Sunset Ave./Edmonds Way/Hwy. 104 near City Park.
Daren and I drove to the marsh in hope that the pair would wind up there. One flew in for a drink from Willow Creek. It remained long enough for me to set up the tripod + 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens + 1.4x teleconverter at the #2 viewing platform for some long distance shots across the marsh.
Here are five of my many shots. Although it was dark and overcast, I still had to use negative exposure compensation to avoid blowing out the bright white head and tail feathers.
Monday afternoon (3/23) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles was perched on the piling off the Senior Center near the ferry dock. The gulls gave me advance warning when it flew overhead as I was standing in the parking lot.
It took advantage of the wind to spend several minutes circling the downtown.
Nice shots, Bill. The eagle pair were 'doing it' just as we drove in our drive this afternoon. They were in the tall fir tree adjacent to our next door neighbors drive. Of course, by the time I got to my camera in the house, they had flown off...story of my life
Friday (3/27) I swung by the "new" nest of the Hutt Park eagles. One of the eagles (female?) was sitting in the nest. I set up my tripod + 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens + 2x teleconverter for some shots. Three of the neighbors stopped by to chat and one let me go up on his front deck to take more photos. Imagine being able to watch an active eagles' nest while sipping your morning latte/cappuccino/mocha/foo-foo coffee from your front deck.
Monday afternoon (3/30) my son and I were at the marsh when we saw a juvie bald eagle sitting on the Pt. Edwards family tree at the top of Pine St. We drove up to investigate and saw what appeared to be a second year juvie due to its still dark head and tail feathers. It might be one of the two 2014 Pt. Edwards eaglets.
I was so "focused" on photographing the juvie circling the tree that I failed to notice the reason for its sudden departure.
I was completely unaware of the arrival of the adult until I heard its screeching. Eagles are good parents, but once the eaglets have flown the nest, they are not welcome back.
This adult appears to have some kind of damage on the right side of its beak, which will hep identify it in the future.
It was about a year ago that Terry, Janine, and I photographed several juvies and a lone adult harassing the Pt. Edwards pair while trying to steal their prey.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)
PNWPhotos.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com