Bald Eagles from the nest, Llano, Texas

Maestro

Here are some of my images from the nesting eagles in Llano, Texas. The nest is 125 yards from the fenceline on private land so this is as far as anyone is allowed to get.

Peaking its head out waiting for its mate to come back from a night, or at least early morning, of hunting. It is sitting on one or two eggs.


When mate did come back, they started to clean and rearrange some of the sticks in the nest.


After a while it was time to go again.




A little soft but I like the pose

Ric Grupe

The size of those nests are phenomenal. They dwarf what we know is a BIG bird.

Nice captures, Stephen.

Maestro

Thanks Ric. Those nests are HUGE! It just swallows the eagles and they are quite large too!

dbaker1221

terrific shots Stephen. .....the nests always kill me:D i guess they can be like 10x10 or so.

jwear

I have seen a opsrey nest that is big but it is small next to an eagles nest .but in texas ain't every thing big

Bud1880

Very nice Stephen. I like the pose in #4 cause that's the pose found on the back of the 'Walking Liberty' half dollar. Neat stuff.

Bud

PrescottPhotog

Ric Grupe wrote:

The size of those nests are phenomenal. They dwarf what we know is a BIG bird.

But Ric.. when you are THE national bird of the USA you gotta have the biggest house..


Great shots from a distance Stephen. We have a nesting pair here but the Forest Service blocks off thousands of acres every year with the threat of jail time and $5,000.00 fines if you go anywhere near it.

I tried to get permission to photograph and document the eaglets this year for the forest service and for our whole town to view by posting photos in the local newspaper.. but what a joke working with the government. They led me on for 3 months saying it was a great idea and then one person shot it down.. saying they didn't want to take the chance that I would sell a photo and make money off the government.. can you believe it. I even told them I would buy a 600mm f/4 (out of my pocket) to use on the shoot so I could stay far enough away from the nest so not to disturb them.

From the beginning I offered to do it for nothing and to state it was done for the people by the government while spending my time and using all my equipment for free. But some bureaucrat didn't want ME to make a penny when I said I wouldn't. No discussion, no meetings.. just NO after being led on for months.

So keep us posted if you see any eaglets cause they should be beautiful as they grow.

Maestro

dbaker1221 wrote:

terrific shots Stephen. .....the nests always kill me:D i guess they can be like 10x10 or so.

I actually couldn't tell you how big it is since it was from such a distance, but it comfortably fit two adult eagles without any problem!

Maestro

jwear wrote:

I have seen a opsrey nest that is big but it is small next to an eagles nest .but in texas ain't every thing big

Frankly, I wish things were a bit smaller in Texas. It takes me three hours to get to eagles and nine hours to get to the best birding in Texas which is the Rio Grande Valley! I'd love to see some osprey nests btw!

Harryb

Excellent captures

It is next to impossible to get close to an eagle's nest. We have quite a few down here and there's just no way to get within shooting range. Of course, that only applies to photographers. If there are eagles nesting somewhere they want to develop they do manage to find some a way to build their condos and malls.

riddim_maker

Excellent series Stephen
This must've been a great and unique experience.
Thanks for sharing

raptorcaptor

Nice shots of the nests Stephen! I'd go back during sunset.

Maestro

Harryb wrote:

Excellent captures

It is next to impossible to get close to an eagle's nest. We have quite a few down here and there's just no way to get within shooting range. Of course, that only applies to photographers. If there are eagles nesting somewhere they want to develop they do manage to find some a way to build their condos and malls.

Isn't that the truth Harry. I have a little birding spot in my hometown here that is quite active at times, but it is slowly being eaten away by a new subdivision. Believe it or not, I know a birder/photographer out in East Texas and he can actually walk to a tree that has an eagle's nest up top. :jawdrop
Anyhow, thanks for the kind words.

Maestro

Bud1880 wrote:

Very nice Stephen. I like the pose in #4 cause that's the pose found on the back of the 'Walking Liberty' half dollar. Neat stuff.

Bud

Thanks Bud. I like that pose too. I'll have to find a half dollar. I think I have an old one around here somewhere.

jeff lapoint

Great work Stephen!

Maestro

PrescottPhotog wrote:

But Ric.. when you are THE national bird of the USA you gotta have the biggest house..


Great shots from a distance Stephen. We have a nesting pair here but the Forest Service blocks off thousands of acres every year with the threat of jail time and $5,000.00 fines if you go anywhere near it.

I tried to get permission to photograph and document the eaglets this year for the forest service and for our whole town to view by posting photos in the local newspaper.. but what a joke working with the government. They led me on for 3 months saying it was a great idea and then one person shot it down.. saying they didn't want to take the chance that I would sell a photo and make money off the government.. can you believe it. I even told them I would buy a 600mm f/4 (out of my pocket) to use on the shoot so I could stay far enough away from the nest so not to disturb them.

From the beginning I offered to do it for nothing and to state it was done for the people by the government while spending my time and using all my equipment for free. But some bureaucrat didn't want ME to make a penny when I said I wouldn't. No discussion, no meetings.. just NO after being led on for months.

So keep us posted if you see any eaglets cause they should be beautiful as they grow.

That is too bad about the way the Forest Service is treating your request. I am not sure what their worries are. I understand their desire to not want to disturb the nest. The Service could always put a boundary around the fence to prevent people from getting too close. Who knows why they do what they do? And why would they care if you sold a print? It would seem to promote the beauty of the area and attract more people. Our forest lands need all the help they can get. We should protect them, yes, but not hide them.

I am going to try to go back once there are eaglets. I will keep you posted. I hope work allows me some time to get away.

windoze

i would have been happy enough to just get an eagle's nest - let alone the bird also!

nicely done!


troy

Maestro

riddim_maker wrote:

Excellent series Stephen
This must've been a great and unique experience.
Thanks for sharing

Thanks Russ. It is always an exhilarating experience to see these raptors.

Giphsub

Great set Stephen. Those nests are huuuuuge! :jawdrop What is the wingspan of a bald eagle?

BigAl

Super series Stephen! That nest *is* pretty large!

Maestro

raptorcaptor wrote:

Nice shots of the nests Stephen! I'd go back during sunset.

Thanks Glenn. To tell you the truth, since there is a fence that won't allow anything but basically a front view of the nest and because of the position of the nest, once it is past, say, 11:00am, the nest and perches are very backlit. I suppose as the year goes on and the sun gets higher in the sky, one could get some nice evening shots, but right now, the window is so little for any decent evening shots, that they are very difficult. The day I was there, the last 30 minutes would have been nice, but the eagles did not cooperate. I do plan on returning to see the eaglet(s).

Osprey Whisperer

That's quite a nest. It must have been a thrill to watch these amazing birds. Nice series Stephen.

Maestro

jeff lapoint wrote:

Great work Stephen!

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate it.

Maestro

windoze wrote:

i would have been happy enough to just get an eagle's nest - let alone the bird also!

nicely done!


troy

Thanks Troy. I actually got some decent perches too. There here in this thread http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=80258.

Maestro

Giphsub wrote:

Great set Stephen. Those nests are huuuuuge! :jawdrop What is the wingspan of a bald eagle?

The wingspan is anywhere from 72 to 90 inches depending on age and sex. They are big! So we are talking 5 to almost 8 feet. It is also amazing to think that whooping cranes have a very similar wingspan!