{"id":80820,"date":"2021-03-08T06:01:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T13:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=80820"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:55:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:55:35","slug":"immature-bald-eagle-in-the-wasatch-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/08\/immature-bald-eagle-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Bald Eagle In The Wasatch Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature Bald Eagle perched near the Weber River \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/6400, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When I spotted this immature Bald Eagle high in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> three days ago I hoped at some point to get photos of it in flight. I was prepared to sit and wait for a while even though with the windows down my hands were quickly going numb from the bitter cold. The eagle was far enough away from the road that I knew that in all likelihood that the young raptor felt comfortable and that it might not take off any time soon.<\/p>\n

I feel that I should note that there should be much more snow on the mountain in the background at this time of the year at the elevation I was at. I am still concerned about the lack of snowpack this winter specially since spring is arriving soon.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Bald Eagle looking at the Weber River \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I noticed that the immature Bald Eagle looked down at the Weber River frequently and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know what had caught the young Bald Eagle’s gaze.<\/p>\n

\"CanadaCanada Geese and Common Mergansers on the Weber River \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I took a chance of missing the eagle lifting off and scoped the area of the river that it kept looking at from its lofty perch. Through some trees on the riverbank I was able to see Canada Geese and drake Common Mergansers in the icy water of the river.<\/p>\n

When the immature Bald eagle eventually did take to the air it did so with its back towards me. The geese and the mergansers called in alarm as the eagle flew down towards them briefly then turned and flew to the north.<\/p>\n

I was disappointed that I didn’t get the flight photos of the Bald Eagle that I had hoped for but I was certainly happy to have found this Bald Eagle since my sightings of birds were few and far between that morning.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

When I spotted this immature Bald Eagle high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago I hoped at some point to get photos of it in flight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,27,1731,26,773],"tags":[846,2663,3903,3133,4152,4067,4069,4104,153,5599,4050,9461,4427,7110],"class_list":["post-80820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bald-eagle","category-avian","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-bald-eagle","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-eagle","tag-eagles","tag-haliaeetus-leucocephalus","tag-immature","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-second-winter","tag-snow","tag-subadult","tag-tree","tag-weber-river"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-weber-river-mia-mcpherson-7022.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-l1y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63710,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/04\/immature-bald-eagles-up-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":80820,"position":0},"title":"Immature Bald Eagles Up High In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On the first of February when I found and photographed an unusual and distinctive Bald Eagle with leucism I also photographed two more immature eagles in the same area.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Bald Eagle resting on a snag, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-snag-mia-mcpherson-6168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-snag-mia-mcpherson-6168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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imagine not being able to raise my lens and see Bald Eagles through my viewfinder as a bird photographer and nature lover.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Bald Eagle on a lofty perch, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-1519.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-1519.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-1519.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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