Over two years ago when I was returning from leading a photography field trip in Woodstock, I decided to take a slow way home along River Road. Approaching the covered bridge in Taftsville, a bald eagle flew over the river and landed in a tree in front of my car. I stopped, grabbed my camera off the passenger seat, and quickly took a few photos. Then it flew — right at me. I got some shots. Above is one of the photos I took. If you wish to see more from this brief encounter, you can CLICK HERE.
Last week a former photo student contacted me to tell me about an eagle’s nest she could see from her cabin. She invited me to come and take photos. I suspected the nest would be too far away for good photos, and that turned out to be the case. But I took some anyway, even though the early morning clouds made matters worse. The photos below are significantly cropped and poor quality, but they reveal a bit of the action at and near the nest that housed one eaglet.
After over an hour watching the nest with the eaglet mostly sleeping out of view, a parent flew in. It did not look like it brought any food. It stood on the nest for about a minute then flew to a nearby branch. Here it is at the nest. You can see the darker eaglet on the right.
There was a blue jay near the nest that seemed to like to harass the eagle. In the sequence below, the adult eagle ignores the blue jay while the eaglet keeps an eye on it.
Eventually, the blue jay got more aggressive and at one point flew directly at the eagle’s head. Talk about getting in your face. This was too much for the eagle which then departed.
About two hours after I arrived, an eagle, I believe the second parent although I’m not sure, flew into a tree that was a bit over 200 yards from the nest and a little closer to me. The light was improving so I took a number of photos while waiting for it to fly.
Eventually mosquitoes got the better of me, so I bid the eagles farewell with the adult still standing on its perch. I believe these were the same pair I photographed in January 2020, 1.5 miles northwest. You can see those photos if you CLICK HERE.