Pay the Dues

Why do the deranged wade through swamps in temperatures that are often referred to as being “colder than a well-digger’s butt”? No one really knows, although individuals collectively known as the wives of outdoorsmen have offered less than credible commentary on the subject for eons of time.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote that he went to Walden Pond to live deliberately. It is more likely that the original draft said something like, “I went to the woods deliberately so that I would no longer hear about how much mud I had just tracked onto the living room carpet.”

Writers and outdoorsmen must endure hardship, because we hope that at some point it will pay off. Such was the case today. Temperatures were below freezing well into the late afternoon hours with the added bonus of blizzard conditions. The tweed-jacket-wearing sensible types that have been festooned from every cattail lately were nowhere to be found on the Bay.

I was there, contemplating which of my appendages might experience the heartbreak of frostbite first and silently hoping it wouldn't be the "vitals" as my grandfather referred to them.

With an hour of daylight to spare, a giant cloud mass swept aside revealing blue sky.

A group of swans flew past trumpeting their song, as if heralding what was close on their tails.

Eagles! Lots of them. One after another mature baldies started hitting the river outlet and hammering the carp to be found in the shallows. The light was spot on, and having paid my dues and been persistent, it was time to fill up a memory card.

A bird dropped in a huge carp and started tearing flesh off the bones.

Eagles were everywhere. Circling, landing, flying over just to take a look at what was on the menu.

8 gigabytes of photographs flowed like water. Then there was a pause in the activity. Suddenly a couple of bufflehead ducks dropped down onto the water right in front of me with some spectacular reflections coming off the surface in the evening light.

A female harrier dropped in and perched nearby, almost perfectly camoflauged in the reeds.

It didn't take long for the light to fade, but I got more quality images in the final hour of the last day than the rest of the 5 days combined. Tomorrow it's back to work, although there is satisfaction in sticking with the task even when the outlook is grim.

After all, as Thoreau found out, no one wants to die only to discover that they had not lived.

The Old Man & the Bay

He was an old man who took photos at the bay with Morrison, and he had gone 84 days now without taking a fish.

-Ernest Colvinway, The Old Man & The Bay

Day two of the Ironman Eagathalon dawned cold and overcast. When I arrived, only one other photographer was on station and with the naked eye I could see 107 bald eagles. The biggest challenge of the morning was lighting, and from minute to minute I needed to adjust my settings as I poked the big prime through the gloom.

Eagles are large and can be seen from a great distance. That is why it's perplexing how they can often sneak up on you and appear out of nowhere. This old veteran bombed in on me at such close range I couldn't capture a full wingspan in the lens.

Morning seems to be the time that eagles enjoy quibbling over carp. Today was no exception and I managed a few snaps of the antics.

Some observers mistake the numerous immature bald eagles for goldens. Young baldies have a brown, mottled appearance which progresses over the first 2 years to full plumage.

This bird was expressing some displeasure at being pestered by an "immature" that was trying to horn in on the carp action. Shortly after this I was also forced to express displeasure at several clothed primates that ventured out onto the ice of the off-limits rest area, which began spooking the eagles farther out onto the flow.

As the day progressed good lighting remained scarce but we did get a few good opportunites like this carp-clutching fly by.

After hours of waiting there was a short flurry of activity when a thermal formed nearby and eagles started rushing into the air to take advantage of it, soaring thousands of feet into the air in minutes.

Homo Sapiens began building up into voluminous masses of humanity in the early afternoon. The harriers have been very skittish lately due to the hustle and bustle, but I did manage a photo of a male, which is an extremely rare happening for me. I see them frequently, but they perpetually avoid the business end of my camera.

I thought this shot of a female was fun, as she sat perched on top of the No OHV sign:

We called it a day early when the rain moved in and the cloud cover made motion photography an impossibility. Thanks again to Jay for good company and lots of insights. Be sure to check out his captures at JayMorr Photography.

Thanks for stopping in!

Hear no Eagle, See no Eagle

I've long admired the photography of Jason Morrison, and today I got to meet him while observing a billowing throng of adolescent humanity break upon us like surf. Thanks for the company and good times Jay! Don't miss Jay's stuff at jaymorrphotography or his blog: http://jaymorrphotography.blogspot.com/.

The humanoid density of the eagle-bearing wetlands swelled today and probably exceeded the population of Turkmenistan by 2PM.

Morrison is apparently a powerful weasel attractant, because no sooner did we arrive on scene than this one charged the Cummins:

The location of the birds didn't make for ideal lighting conditions in the morning, but patience paid off and we had a few close encounters.

It is crazy to see birds this size jump off the ice and snatch carp out of the open water after just a few flaps of their powerful wings.

Often disagreements involving the ownership of the sushi break out and we got treated to several intense fish fights.

The control that eagles exhibit in the air is remarkable. This bird banked hard as it approached open water, and eventually began dragging its wingtip and tracing a contact line across the water's surface.

We had a great time out in the marsh. It was a gorgeous day with blue sky and very pleasant temperatures. We missed some nice opportunities but came away with some nice captures too. I'm excited to get back out and do it again.

They're Heeeere

Despite the rain I made a quick stop tonight after work. The ice had really shifted with the wind, and open water areas were quite a bit different from yesterday. Once the eagles are on station they tend to increase in number rapidly, stick around for a few weeks, and then diminish as fast as they arrived.

Again poor lighting conditions were limiting, but I did get rewarded with a very brief crack in the clouds that lasted 7 or 8 minutes. During that time I snapped a few shots, which only increase my anticipation of the next 5 days.

So it Begins

Today marked what will likely be my last scouting trip for eagles this year. The number of birds doubled since Saturday, and there were over 60 baldies gathering around open water this evening. The lighting was extremely flat and low due to heavy cloud cover and lingering inversion. The conditions could not have been worse for photography. Still, my main intent was to pattern the birds to some degree and understand where to be for the weekend.

I am excited for the coming week, which hopefully will bring some good light and enough weather to clear out the smog. There is a lot of open water out there, more than I have seen in many years. That is keeping the birds spread out, but tonight I would have had a few very nice chances were it not for the cloudy gloom. I saw this kestrel catch a mouse and moved in for a shot - the background here is the sky so you can see how flat and monotone everything was.

I did see a couple of nice rooster pheasants out pecking around. It was a nice little after-work scout and now that I know the birds are in town I can't wait to get out after 'em.