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When photographing eagles in sunny conditions, Terry and I routinely start at -1/3 exposure compensation, then look at our photos so see where to go from there.
I have frequently seen a juvie flying around town this winter. I suspected I may actually be seeing two or more birds, as there were three local fledglings in 2017. My thoughts were confirmed Monday afternoon (4-9-18) when I saw two juvies chasing each other around the bluff above Marina Beach Park where the Pt. Edwards condos are located.
Thursday afternoon (4-13-18) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles was perched on the "family" tree at the top of Pine St. while I was at the marsh.
Later I heard distress calls that gulls typically make when an eagle is in the vicinity. I looked up to see that the eagle had left the tree and was stretching its wings over town with an attendant gulltourage. I took some shots with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter to practice tracking a bird in flight with that camera/lens combo, which has a narrow field of view.
I was out on the fishing pier on a dark and dreary Monday afternoon (4-16-18) when the "sibs", as I call the two juvies I believe are 2017 fledglings, passed over the marina.
The first one, the darker of the two, made a few circles over Olympic Beach before heading south.
The second one, the lighter of the two, chased a gull carrying a fish out over Puget Sound.
It gave up on obtaining a free meal and resumed its southward flight, flying past the fishing pier and over the marina in the process.
I've learned to love the young baldies. The mottled feathers and patterns makes them interesting. When I first started, I'd often pass them up in favor of mature adults. Now I've got so many bald eagle photos they all start to look the same. At least with the younger ones you have different patterns and variations in color etc to keep things more interesting.
I also like the juvies too. Until they mature and start concerning themselves with things like finding mates, establising territories, and raising young; they are like a bunch of rambunctious children without a care in the world.
Tuesday morning (4-17-18) a sub-adult was flying over the Sound off Sunset Ave. It looks like a third year bird as it still has a few white feathers on its wings and body plus black feathers on its head and tail. Taken with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter mounted on a tripod.
I have seen reports of eagles in the Seattle area sitting on eggs. That is hard to determine with the nests I follow as I am looking up at the nests and the eagles are quite literally lying low. My only chance to determine whether or not eggs have been laid is to catch one of the eagles peeking up out of the nest or to be near the nest during a shift change when one eagle relieves the other at the nest.
Monday afternoon (4-23-18) I caught one of the Pt. Edwards eagles looking like it is sitting on eggs. I'll have to review last year's eagle thread to see when we may expect eaglets.
Thursday afternoon (4-26-18) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles flew by the marsh towards the "family tree" at the top of Pine St. It was met by the sub adult (third year?) eagle that I had photographed earlier in the month. I was caught between cameras and just got some grab shots of the action.
1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom, handheld
No reinforcements would be coming as the other Pt. Edwards eagle is sitting on eggs.
5DIII + 500L + 1.4x teleconverter, tripod mounted
Things settled down when the sub adult perched on a lower limb of the family tree.
I have seen reports of eagles in the Seattle area sitting on eggs. That is hard to determine with the nests I follow as I am looking up at the nests and the eagles are quite literally lying low. My only chance to determine whether or not eggs have been laid is to catch one of the eagles peeking up out of the nest or to be near the nest during a shift change when one eagle relieves the other at the nest.
Looking back at last season's eagle thread, the eagles are on about the same schedule as last year. I photographed egg sitting and shift changes in mid April.
I was down at the marsh Saturday afternoon (4-28-18) and discovered that the "Sibs" were back in town
They were looking for trouble and started raising h*** on the family tree of the Pt. Edwards eagles.
By the time I got my gear packed up at the marsh and drove up to Pine St., the hooligans had been joined by one of the Pt. Edwards adults.
The adult had not only been booted from its perch, it had to suffer the further indignity of being harassed by an evil minion of the Dark Lord that ignored the juvies.
The Sibs looked as though they were getting a good laugh over the plight of the adult.
Monday afternoon (5-7-18) I caught one of the Pt. Edwards eagles perched in the sentry tree. I shot at -1 & 2/3 to keep from blowing out the head and tail feathers.
The eagle turned around, so I went back to 0 exposure compensation in anticipation of a take off.
The eagle flew to the nest across the street. A second eagle did not fly out of the nest, so I assume it was warm enough to leave the eggs or hatchlings uncovered for a period of time.
Friday afternoon (5-11-18) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles was getting harassed by the evil minions of the Dark Lord while it perched near the ferry dock.
I wondered why it started screeching, as it usually just ignores the crows.
It had spotted a sub adult (third year bird?) cruising northbound high in the sky. The sub adult turned around and made a low circle over the marina.
Monday afternoon (5-21-18) saw a lot of comings and goings from the Pt. Edwards nest. I suspect there are babies to feed. It gave me the opportunity to take a lot of EiF (eagles in flight) shots.
This eagle came in low and hot with a crow on its tail. It looked as though it was carrying a duck in its talons.
Into the nest.
Takeoff from the sentry tree on a short flight to the nest.
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