bald eagle and babies!!! (finally)
some of you may recall that I've encountered this bird before. It lives right down the road from MrsIt's parents on the Connecticut River. I finally got out on her uncle's boat this weekend and scored these:
the best one (I think):
and the little ones (very noisy, major cropping)
and this one to give you a scale of how big she is (thats a BIG tree):
All shot with my Sigma 100-300mm f/4 + 1.4xTC. So I Av'd at wide open (f/5.6) and to get shutter speeds in the 1000 range, I had to push it to ISO 200 because of the shadows she was in. Not ideal on the 10D and a rocking boat, but nonetheless, some decent results. Bigger boat or bigger lens - since they'll be about the same price, I'm thinking that the bigger boat is a better investment... :lol3
the best one (I think):
and the little ones (very noisy, major cropping)
and this one to give you a scale of how big she is (thats a BIG tree):
All shot with my Sigma 100-300mm f/4 + 1.4xTC. So I Av'd at wide open (f/5.6) and to get shutter speeds in the 1000 range, I had to push it to ISO 200 because of the shadows she was in. Not ideal on the 10D and a rocking boat, but nonetheless, some decent results. Bigger boat or bigger lens - since they'll be about the same price, I'm thinking that the bigger boat is a better investment... :lol3
Erik
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moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
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Congrats on those captures. Marvelous details on those shots.
They are also a good argument for longer lenses. I have an active eagle's nest behind our local firehouse about a 5 minute drive from me. Since their is a regulation prohibiting a person from getting within 200 yards of an active eagle's nest I can't get close enough to get a shot and it's just killing me because they have 2 eglets in the nest.
Its a thrill to see these guys in the wild isn't it?
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AJ
Hey, if the eagle won't come to the Doctor, the Doctor will have to go to the eagle
Man, nailing these must have made you proud
Nice work and worth all the trouble too.
Steve
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and babies, too.
g
...worth making, Doc!
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The whole side of the river they live on is protected land, no one can even set foot on it, so it is tough indeed - but well warranted, these amazing birds deserve all the help they can get.
The water is a different story. They'd have to arrest hundreds of people each weekend - this is a pretty heavily trafficked portion, a boat landing is just a half mile down (on the opposite bank of course). So this family of eagles is pretty tolerant. Fisherman, water skiiers, maybe good entertainment while one is watching the kids and waiting for the other to hunt???
Also, their original nest was about 500 yds downstream in another tree. 2 years ago it was knocked out in a snowstorm. Everyone was really afraid that they would leave, as many eagles do if they lose a nest. Nope, thye like it there, rebuilt bigger and better.
Did you all notice the band on her ankle? Apparently they sent a specialist up to the nest last week to check on the babies. Newspaper reported 3 of them. I only saw two over the course of an hour... hoping the third was just napping the whole time.
Thanks everyone - it's a pleasure to share a great capture like this. I'll hopefully keep 'em coming over the summer as the young ones come out of the nest.
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are they afraid you'll eat them?
eric, great stuff!
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