{"id":12012,"date":"2013-12-19T06:04:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T13:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=12012"},"modified":"2025-01-31T05:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T11:41:27","slug":"two-hours-with-fog-frost-and-a-four-year-old-bald-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/19\/two-hours-with-fog-frost-and-a-four-year-old-bald-eagle\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Hours With Fog, Frost And A Four Year Old Bald Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past week or so I have written about how harsh winters can be on birds in northern Utah. How the birds are often covered in hoar frost first thing in the morning like this four year old Bald Eagle I photographed in a heavy lake fog in January of 2010.<\/p>\n

\"FourFour year old Bald Eagle covered in hoar frost in heavy fog – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1\/320, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited <\/span><\/p>\n

This was the first image I took of the Bald Eagle that morning at 8:45 am. It was roosting on an old post very near the road and some open water. Practically every feather had hoar frost on it and as I recall the temps were in the teens or even lower.<\/p>\n

\"BaldBald Eagle covered in hoar frost\u00a0– Nikon D200, f10, 1\/320, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
\n(45 minutes after the first image)<\/span><\/p>\n

I have mentioned in my post “So ya think ya want to be a bird photographer<\/a><\/span>” that you have to have patience. Well, some times you have to be a little crazy too. Sitting for two hours with a Bald Eagle as it slowly warms up and waiting until the hoar frost melts IS<\/em> a little crazy, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

\"YawningYawning Bald Eagle – Nikon D200, f7.1, \u00a01\/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 350mm, natural light, not baited
\n(An hour and a half after the first image)<\/span><\/p>\n

Sitting in a very cold vehicle with the windows down because you don’t know what might disturb the eagle or when it might take flight because it is right next to a road and traffic is going past the eagle is a bit crazy too.<\/p>\n

It was cold enough that my feet started getting numb and the hand warmers in my gloves may as well have been blocks of ice. When the fog lifted and the warmth of the sun fell on the Bald Eagle’s dark feathers the frost melted and the eagle yawned, preened, and called.<\/p>\n

\"PreeningPreening four year old Bald Eagle – Nikon D200, f8, 1\/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 228mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

After an hour and fifty-five minutes the four year old Bald Eagle displayed some signs that it would soon be lifting off because it pooped, scratched, shook its feathers, and appeared to give me a stare.<\/p>\n

\"FourFour year old Bald eagle in flight\u00a0– Nikon D200,\u00a0f8 1\/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 228mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

At exactly 2 hours from the time I started photographing the Bald Eagle it took flight at 10:45 am. I waited two hours for the Bald Eagle to take flight and I got 9 frames of the eagle from lift off to flight and clipped 5 of those.<\/p>\n

Patience is absolutely a must for bird photographers and it doesn’t hurt to throw a little crazy in the mix too.<\/p>\n

Yes, I am addicted to bird photography.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

To view more of my Bald Eagle photos plus facts and information about this species click here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patience is absolutely a must for bird photographers and it doesn’t hurt to throw a little crazy in the mix too. Spending two hours in freezing temps to photograph a bird might be a little crazy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[438,846,2663,3903,3133,4175,2161,3983,4152,4201,4421,156,153,373],"class_list":["post-12012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bald-eagle","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-aging-bald-eagles","tag-bald-eagle","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-eagle","tag-eagles","tag-fog","tag-four-year-old","tag-frost","tag-haliaeetus-leucocephalus","tag-hoar-frost","tag-lake-fog","tag-low-light-2","tag-raptors","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bald-eagle-fog-flight-mia-mcpherson-7206.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-37K","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":647,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/08\/28\/low-light-avian-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":0},"title":"Low Light Bird Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"What I\u00a0appreciate a great deal about my avian photography is working with the light, not fighting it in the camera or in post processing, so I am presenting these images below as what they are, photos taken in low light.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Kestrel in low light and snow at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-perched-back-mia-mcpherson-1141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-perched-back-mia-mcpherson-1141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-perched-back-mia-mcpherson-1141.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11844,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/13\/a-frosted-farmington-bay-wildlife-management-area\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":1},"title":"Frosted Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have mentioned in recent posts that winter can be harsh in the Salt Lake Valley in posts with images I had taken at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area so I wanted to share these two images taken there yesterday.","rel":"","context":"In "Davis County"","block_context":{"text":"Davis County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/davis-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hoar frost covered tree at Farmington Bay WMA in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136909,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/16\/charleston-lake-fog-a-start-to-a-beautiful-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":2},"title":"Charleston Lake Fog – A Start To A Beautiful Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'm sharing a view and video of Charleston Lake shrouded in fog, with a Bald Eagle perched high in a tree. It was a beautiful start to the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bald Eagle in a fog on Charleston Lake Park, Franklin County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30465,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/19\/bald-eagle-landing-on-ice-in-a-fog-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":3},"title":"Bald Eagle landing on ice in a fog at Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"During the winter Farmington Bay has a large population of overwintering Bald Eagles that migrate down from northern states and Canada.","rel":"","context":"In "Baiting"","block_context":{"text":"Baiting","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife-ethics\/baiting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bald Eagle landing on ice in a fog, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-landing-mia-mcpherson-4370.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-landing-mia-mcpherson-4370.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-landing-mia-mcpherson-4370.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-landing-mia-mcpherson-4370.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":182,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/01\/15\/frost-covered-barn-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":4},"title":"Frost-covered American Barn Owl","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This was taken on an early December morning, there was heavy, dismal fog and at times a light snow was falling. The hoar frost was still clinging to the feathers and the facial disc of the Barn Owl.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frost covered American Barn Owl, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6423,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/25\/winters-first-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":12012,"position":5},"title":"Winter’s First Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Antelope Island after a fresh snow, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}