That Baldy was six hundred yards away, that’s why the photo’s kinda fuzzy.
Here’s the original, 3000mm full zoom on my Nikon P1000, no cropping, no color adjustments.
Here’s a diagram, showing the place. I’m standing at the end of the airport taxiway; the eagle is across from me, on the other side of the wastewater plant and Spanish Creek.
I had just arrived on my bicycle at the end of the taxiway and hadn’t even got off when I heard the eagle call. I was hoping to find one here today as it was; this has been a good Bald Eagle spotting location for the past few years now, but until today I hadn’t seen one in this proximity for this winter season.
As soon as I heard the call I looked over with my eyes and could just barely discern a white spot up in the pine trees. Immediately I pulled my binoculars and there I had it. I hopped off the bicycle, and kneeling down I used the bicycle seat as a camera rest. I knew that at the distance I was shooting and for what I could see in my viewfinder that the photos weren’t going to be spectacular, but thanks to the extreme zoom of the Nikon P1000 I also knew that what I did catch was going to be unmistakable for i.d.
Happy enough!
*****
Saturday, the 13th, started with snow and then turned to rain. By Sunday morning however the rain had passed and it looked like a bicycle outing was in the cards. I took off just before 9:00 a.m. and as soon as I was over on the bicycle path I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk in a tree. Good start!
After catching this hawk I made my way out to the airport and snagged the Baldy. On the way back I spotted yet another Red-tailed Hawk, a real looker, with good sun and lighting. In contrast to the eagle, this Red-tailed was only about fifty yards line-of-sight.
From here I pedaled on back into town and then over to Dellinger’s Pond, and from there on out to what I’m calling “FRC Ranch”, a place about a mile west of town that gives me a nice stretch of Spanish Creek to check out. By this time, I’ve put on the better part of five and a half miles, with two and a half to get back home.
Couple more photos and it’s over to you.
Common Goldeneye (female) at Dellinger’s
Bufflehead hen and drake at Dellinger’s
Red-tailed Hawk out at FRC Ranch
Now it’s your turn. What’s up, nature-wise, in your area? Please include your location in your comments and any photos if you have them.
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