Edmonds Eagles 2018-2020

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Our local eagles disappear in August and return in September or October. I always start a new yearly thread upon their return.

I had spent the weekend in Idaho for my 50 year high school class reunion. Monday (9/24/18) I made my usual rounds after my return and found the eagles had also returned from vacation. One was perched on the family tree on Pt. Edwards above the new condos.

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A second one was perched down the street.

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I set up the super telephoto combo to get shots of the one on the family tree above the condos.

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Both eagles took off while I was talking to one of the people living nearby. One flew to the nest.

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It took off while I wasn't looking. Both eagles were soaring over the area. Let the new eagle season begin.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I was at the marsh Sunday (9-30-18) when I caught the eagles landing on the family tree at the top of Pine St.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thursday (10-4-18) was a beautiful autumn day and my son and I drove up to check on the Pt. Edwards eagles. One eagle was perched atop a tree near the nest and was screeching for its mate.

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Its mate was not answering and it took me several minutes to locate it. Despite their bright white head and tail feathers, adults can be hard to spot if they are perched in a tree.

Can you spot the second eagle?

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Here is some help.

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Closeup:

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For more info about the lives of our local eagles, I strongly recommend Year of the Eagle by Kevin Ebi, a local photographer. Kevin was the keynote speaker at this year's Bird fest.

http://www.livingwilderness.com/yearoftheeagle/
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Late Sunday afternoon (10-7-18) an adult flew from the marina over the marsh to perch in one of the tall trees on the fish hatchery grounds. I assume it was one of the Pt. Edwards pair.

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I drove from the marsh over to Pine St. for some closer shots.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Monday afternoon (10-8-18) the Pt. Edwards eagles were perched in a tree on Pine St. downhill from their regular perch at the top of the hill.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The Pt. Edwards pair continue to perch on trees along the south side of Pine St. along the Edmonds-Woodway border.

Shots from Friday afternoon (10-12-18). I did not pack a wide angle lens and was barely able to get both eagles in the photo. You can just see one in the lower left corner and one in the upper right corner

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Eagle in the upper tree.

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Eagle in the lower tree.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Downtown Edmonds was socked in with fog for most of Monday (10-22-18). While at the marsh, I could barely make out one of the Pt. Edwards eagles perched on a pole near the railroad tracks.

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I drove over to the boat repair yard for some better shots.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thursday morning (10-25-18) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles stirred up gulls at the marina when it flew from its perch in the tree at the top of Pine St. to the mast of a ship in the marina.

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Later that morning two eagles that I believe were the Hutt Pair flew south along Sunset Ave......

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then began chasing a gull out in the Sound.

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The chase lasted so long that I thought maybe the eagles were doing it just for for amusement.

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Those thoughts were dispelled when I saw one of them flying back to the shore with the gull in tow.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Terry recently purchased a used Canon Series III 2x teleconverter. Friday afternoon (10-26-18) we both set up our 5DIII + 500L telephoto lenses + 2x III TC's at the marsh. Terry experimented with attaching his Tamron 1.4x TC to his super telephoto package.

Due to their construction, my two Canon 1.4x TC's won't attach to my 2x TC, but I remembered that I had an aftermarket 1.4x TC in the pickup. I discovered that it will attach to the 2x TC. Here are photos of the Pt. Edwards eagle perched on the family tree at the top of Pine St. for comparison. All shots were taken from a tripod and are uncropped.

5DIII + 500L telephoto + 2x III teleconverter using autofocus. (1000mm)

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5DIII + 500L telephoto + 2x III teleconverter + 1.4x teleconverter using manual focus. (1400mm)

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Auto focus does not work when stacking the TC's, so the combo can only be used on fairly stationary objects. I'll experiment more when the light is better and include 50mm and cropped photos for a more complete evaluation.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Tuesday morning (10-30-18) one of the Pt. Edwards eagles was perched at its usual spot on the piling off the Senior Center near the ferry dock while I was at the fishing pier. A boat was nearby, so I set the aperture for f/16 to get both in focus and the shutter at 1/125 to get a reasonable ISO setting (640) on such an overcast day.

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I figured such a slow shutter speed was fine as long as the eagle remained stationary. So naturally, that was the time the eagle picked to take off and fly past me.

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Some people like the blurred wings created by shooting at such a slow shutter speed as it suggests motion. I am not in that camp.

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The eagle flew past its mate which was perched on the mast of a boat moored at the marina, scaring up the gulls perched on the marina breakwater.

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The second bird took off and both headed south.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Later that afternoon I was at the marsh when the cries of gulls at the marina alerted me to an incoming eagle.

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It landed in the marsh out of sight behind some grass.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I located it with the super telephoto package of the 7DII + 500L telephoto lens + 2x III teleconverter. Initially the camera focused on the grass.

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I got the camera to focus through the grass on the eagle.

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Some friends of mine were at the #3 viewing platform and got a good view of the eagle drinking. All I got was a shot of the water dripping off its beak.
I knew the bird would most likely fly off before I could relocate to the #3 platform.

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I was right, but I did get some shots of the eagle when it flew off.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
To borrow our town's motto, Friday (11-2-18) was an Edmonds eagle kind of day. Daren and I just missed photographing some sort of confrontation over the marsh with three adults overhead. There was a lot of screeching and one adult was chasing another. All three birds disappeared to the northeast so we set out to track them down.

We found a pair perched on a tree above Shell Creek off Daley St. I took some photos from 7th Ave. at east side of the Civic Center playfields park as a rainbow lit up the sky from behind. Taken handheld with the 1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.

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If this is the Pt. Edwards pair, they are expanding their territory. Taken with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens + 2x III teleconverter, tripod mounted,
@ -2/3 exposure compensation.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I drove up Daley St. for some closer shots. Same gear but with +1 exposure compensation due to the back lighting.

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One eagle took off.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Eagle tracking involves checking out their usual perches. I found one on the piling off the Senior Center by the ferry dock.

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A gull noticed the eagle as well.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
From the marsh I caught up with one bird sitting on its regular perch on the tree at the top of Pine St.

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It was joined by its mate amid much screeching.

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