Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird...

[squirl033]

okay, sorry, couldn't resist... but it IS a bird, anyway. haven't been on much, the weather's been mostly too crappy to go out and shoot, but the rain finally let up this afternoon, and the sun came out, so i went to the park to see what critters were out and about on a cold, clear December day. not much going on, but this eagle did fly over, and i managed a couple of decent shots as it passed... 40D, 400mm, 1/500 @ f/9...

 

[Leia]

Right on!!! I only get them in trees. Great captures.

 

[JLMCPICS]

Nice!!!!!!!!!

 

[JaniceL]

I'm never close enough. These are wonderful.

 

[NinaS]

nice capture, you inspire me to get out this week, while it is cccold & clear ... maybe Ridgefield NWR

 

[Tony S]

nice capture, this time of year they are migrating in so you should be able to get many more shots of them. The first seems to have a bit too much sharpening with some halos and glowing edges to it.

 

[squirl033]

nice capture, this time of year they are migrating in so you should be able to get many more shots of them.

actually, they're around here year-round... i've gotten some of my best shots in summer...

 

[Tony S]

Yep they are here year round, but this time of year there are probably four times as many with them coming down from the colder north and picking the salmon carcasses from the local rivers. Lots more opportunities to shoot one or more.

Gotta love eagles when they pose for you like they did in those two shots Rocky.

 

[BobH]

Anyone ever done the Skagit River trips? How did that work out for photos? I'm not too worried about getting wet, this time of year I'm sure they try very hard to keep everyone and everything dry, but shooting from a moving boat doesn't seem like it lends itself to sharp photos. Do they stop at certain places?

On a related note, can you get to any of the eagles by land, or are all the favored locations not easily accesible?

 

[JLMCPICS]

On a related note, can you get to any of the eagles by land, or are all the favored locations not easily accesible?

I was wondering the same thing and found this article. It includes a map of areas to look and what species are found in that area.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2008732763_nwwbirds121.html

 

[Tony S]

Here's a link to an article in The News Tribune from last month with some land based viewing spots.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/160/story/969771.html

 

[BobH]

Tony's info is the place I was thinking of.

There are two different places, both featuring the name "Skagit".

One is the Skagit Valley, home to the famed tulip festival. It's also on the migration path for many birds, and you can easily see HUGE flocks of ducks and geese and other large and small migratory birds in that area. That's the one Jan linked to, and it's well worth seeing. You can, of course, see eagles there too, but not in large numbers.

The other area is the Skagit River, and the areas upstream near Rockport and Marblemount. Eagles come there from far and wide to feast on salmon that have spawned and then die along the river. They show up in large groups, which makes it a prime eagle watching location.

 

[BobH]

Another article on the eagle watching. It's from 2005, but with the exception of the eagle festival being cancelled this year, I suspect not much has changed.

http://www.seattlepi.com/getaways/206639_eagles06.html

PS - Get a load of this shot:
http://www.seattlepi.com/photos/photo.asp?PhotoID=57333

Check out the guy with the huge lens in the front of the boat. I can't imagine taking a lens that big into a rubber boat, especially one packed with that many people, including a couple guys in back who are standing up! Oh well, guess that's what insurance is for...

 

[JLMCPICS]

Thanks for the info guys! I will definitely be out there...just not on the boat!

 

[Tony S]

For those in the south end, there is a good amount of eagle activity on the Carbon River above Orting near the fish hatchery. There are several spots where the Rails to Trails trail goes along the river and you can see eagles feeding on the dead salmon.
In the same area they can also be found on the Puyallup River along Orville road about 1 mile south of the grange, they really like to roost in the cottonwoods on the west side of the river there. A lot of the property there (south of the cedar mill to the bridge) belongs to the county since it bought the property instead of paying to repair flood damaged homes.