{"id":75960,"date":"2020-12-10T06:36:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T13:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=75960"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:32:10","slug":"photographing-bald-eagles-at-farmington-bay-wma-during-an-inversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/10\/photographing-bald-eagles-at-farmington-bay-wma-during-an-inversion\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Bald Eagle in flight over the frozen marsh at Farmington Bay WMA \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Right after I photographed the male Northern Harrier<\/span><\/a> I shared photos of yesterday an adult Bald Eagle lifted off from the ice in a frozen section of the marsh yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA. I took a series of photos of the Bald Eagle as it flew towards the northeast and honestly I would have been much happier with my photos if they had been taken on a clearer day rather than on a day when the inversion was bad. And the inversion that morning was bad.<\/p>\n

The Utah state government though has told the EPA that they have our air pollution under control. Yeah? No. They don’t.<\/p>\n

There are times during the winter that the Salt Lake Valley area has THE worst air on the planet. That gray haze at the top of this photo is the inversion. The sky shouldn’t look like that.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Bald Eagle turning in flight \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the “inversion” and why does it occur?<\/p>\n

From the Utah.gov<\/span><\/a> site:<\/p>\n

Under normal atmospheric conditions, air is warmer near the ground and colder at higher altitudes. In a temperature inversion, the situation \u201cinverts,\u201d and cold air at the surface gets trapped under a layer of warmer air. During the winter, snow-covered valley floors reflect rather absorb heat, preventing the normal vertical mixing of warm and cold air that keeps pollutants from building up to unhealthy levels at the surface.<\/p>\n

Causes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Calm winds, clear skies, and long nights prevent air at higher altitudes from mixing with air closer to the ground.<\/p>\n