{"id":107450,"date":"2022-10-22T03:33:45","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T09:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=107450"},"modified":"2022-10-22T05:21:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T11:21:37","slug":"golden-eagle-rising-above-a-ridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/22\/golden-eagle-rising-above-a-ridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Eagle Rising Above A Ridge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Golden Eagle rising above a ridge \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

This morning I’m sharing a photo of a gorgeous adult Golden Eagle that I took just as it was taking off from a ridge, shortly after I found it. The golden “mane” of the eagle glowed as it passed the rabbitbrush on the left side of the frame.\u00a0 Of the four Golden Eagles I found two days ago only this eagle was close enough to take more than just documentary images.<\/p>\n

This eagle was extremely skittish and lifted off from the ground before I could stop my Jeep and turn off the engine. The first two photos I took of the eagle were soft because I hadn’t been able to lock focus on the large, dark bird. I was able to lock on when I took this image of the eagle clearing the ridge. It is certainly not my best Golden Eagle image but I like it.<\/p>\n

I see fewer Golden Eagles now than when I first moved to Utah in 2009. Recent information from HawkWatch International shows there is cause for all of us to be concerned about these amazing birds. According to HawkWatch International in 2021 only 1 chick survived to the end of the nestling period (fledged) for every 10 territories surveyed<\/span><\/a> in Utah’s West Desert. The continuing drought, wildfires, the presence of prey species, and other factors are contributing to this decline.<\/p>\n

I felt extremely lucky to find four adult Golden Eagles on just one morning. There are times that I haven’t found a single one on trips to this same area of the state.<\/p>\n

In addition to these Golden Eagles I found two first of season Rough-legged Hawks, many American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks, one Ferruginous Hawk and one immature Bald Eagle. I found two large falcons that I wasn’t able to accurately ID because of poor lighting conditions plus one smaller one that I suspect was a Merlin. My other first of season sighting from that morning was four swans flying south over the road.<\/p>\n

It was a pretty great, birdy morning and I loved every moment of it.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Golden Eagle photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning I’m sharing a photo of a gorgeous adult Golden Eagle that I took just as it was taking off from a ridge, shortly after I found it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1148,1200,26],"tags":[4004,4345,970,2663,4098,3903,3133,4620,4052,4122,7017,1201,4109,4289,153,4364,4018],"class_list":["post-107450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-golden-eagles","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aquila-chrysaetos","tag-autumn","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-desert","tag-eagle","tag-eagles","tag-fall","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-foothills","tag-golden-eagle","tag-grasses","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-raptors","tag-ridge","tag-sky"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t