Bald Eagle Closeup - NW Trek

[BobH]

Taken deep in the forest in the foothills of Mount Rainier. I was able to sneak up on this bald eagle who was....

... resting comfortably in the new Bald Eagle exhibit at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.

The exhibit is a bit of a challenge to photograph (even when it's not closed due to Covid) as there's a mesh screen keeping the birds in. But by shooting with a long lens at high power and choosing a section of the mesh that was in shadow, it's pretty much invisible. Taken at 600 MM and then cropped, it allowed me to get a much better closeup than I could ever get in the wild.

 

[RickyRed2057]

was this taken before the park was closed?

 

[BobH]

was this taken before the park was closed?

Yes, I'm not affiliated with them, just a tourist. It was taken a week or two after the new exhibit opened. I have a season pass, so I stopped by on the way to someplace else, shot for an hour or so and then headed on my way. That's the nice thing about a season's pass, you don't feel bad if you don't have time to spend the entire day.

Of course, this year it's not quite as good of a deal as usual with the long term closure. But it goes to a good cause.