Bald Eagle landing on ice in a fog – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1/320, ISO 400, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
I dug up this Bald Eagle image from my archives yesterday while working on my new photo galleries and I realized I had never posted this photo here on my blog. During the winter Farmington Bay has a large population of overwintering Bald Eagles that migrate down from northern states and Canada. The weather during that time period can be very challenging to photograph in with heavy fog, falling snow, poor lighting conditions and the dreaded inversions.
During the time period that the eagles are at Farmington Bay WMA you can see eagles of all ages feeding on the invasive carp that are killed almost yearly to reduce the carp population.
Even though I had poor light, fog and a slow shutter speed when I took this Bald Eagle image I like the landing pose and the look of concentration of the eagle’s eyes. It is certainly not my best eagle image but I think it tells a story.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Bald Eagle photos plus facts and information about this species.
PS: I haven’t photographed Bald Eagles the last few years at Farmington Bay WMA because of the increase of people/photographers bringing in frozen turkeys and chickens to bait the eagles into more aesthetically pleasing locations and that goes against my personal ethics when it comes to bird and wildlife photography.
What a glorious sight. And oh those talons…
It’s just fabulous Mia!
I’m so glad to know that we share the view on the UNETHICAL baiting by so many to “get the shot”.
Sometimes I am even hesitant to like and comment on some wildlife/bird photographs, because they seem just a bit too “perfectly posed”.
Thank you!
Fabulous photo! My jaw dropped at the mention of people bringing in frozen turkeys & chickens to bait the eagles. Pathetic.
I just finished a long over due painting of a Bald Eagle– poised for a fish snatch…It was in lieu of paying money for a field mowing done LAST YEAR! A heart attack,stent , abcessed tooth extraction and removal of a cancerous lesion on my tongue all contrived to delay things…it felt so doggone good to finally complete the darned thing, get it under glas, and hand it over!!! Seeing your eagle makes me wish I’d done something with a similar pose….Oh, well!…..
Good to know you survived all that and did get your painting done. Beautiful image Mia.
Thank you…it DID feel awfully good to get it done, underglass and hand it over… Like when you get a long-sought after bird, angle or image…
A beautiful image…love the position , implied power, focus and intent of the burd…also like your “related” series re: the Field Swallows….looks like a Blue bird house some are squabbling over….
Beautiful image Mia. The Eagle is so impressive and means so much. Thanks for sharing that.