In this second, and final post of the Squaw Creek Bald Eagles, I am sharing some flight shots of the eagles at the refuge. Flight shots are always at the top of my list of “To Do” things when photographing birds, so I’m always looking for in-flight possibilities.
I saw this adult during my first day on the refuge:
On Day 3, this adult was sitting in a tree for a short while after I arrived, then proceeded to fly from the branch and flew directly towards me. Knowing which way the wind was blowing, I had placed my vehicle with the wind at my back, just in case he decided to leave his perch! As with most birds, when given the opportunity, they will usually launch into the wind to get better “lift” for flight:
Later in the day, several adult eagles were slowly soaring over the refuge, catching some mid-day thermals:
The number of bald eagles on the refuge during this trip was a bit disappointing … usually, there are ~100 eagles at this time of year, but this trip the number was only 57. I was aware of this before I left home, but the main reason for the trip was the 84 Trumpeter Swans (of which I’ve been posting). So, it still was a great trip and I did manage to have a few bald eagles flying around me, for “icing on the cake”!
Tomorrow, I’ll share another bird we found on the refuge.
