Today’s post includes some bald eagle images I made while at Squaw Creek NWR, photographing the Trumpeter Swans. Squaw Creek is know for the migrating waterfowl counts; Snow Geese numbers often reach 500,000 or more during November/early December. And with the increased waterfowl counts, comes the migrating Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus):
Immature Bald Eagle
Pair of adult Bald Eagles sitting near their nest tree
An adult Bald Eagle sitting near nest
When the second adult flies into the nest, the first one flies down to meet at the nest
Normally, my early winter trips to Squaw Creek are for the bald eagles. As winter moves into the northern part of the central U.S., the eagles migrate southward, following the snow goose migration. They typically reside at the refuge for only a few weeks, until the refuge waters begin freezing. As the waters freeze, the snow geese continue southward, as does the bald eagles.
In “Squaw Creek Bald Eagles, Part 2”, I’ll share some in-flight images of bald eagles as they soar and glide over the refuge waters.
