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Its exciting to see the Pt. Edwards eagle pair Bill Anderson has been documenting using and improving their nest. Bill and his son Daren joined me about midway in the action.
Some nice bright sunlight today, but because of their white heads and almost black body feathers, it presents exposure problems in trying to photograph them. In this case, the dark and complicated background added to the exposure problem - but still its always exciting watching these marvelous birds.
All shots were taken with a Canon 7D and 500mm f4L+1.4x teleconverter. I used a minus 2/3 exposure compensation to try to keep from blowing the whites on the eagle's head.
Initially only the female was in the nest
Later the male brought back a small fish - these last two were taken after they polished the fish off
I'm sure Bill will be posting some additional action shots - so I'm looking forward to seeing them.
I'll try not to repeat Terry's sequence. My shots are not as close as his since I am only shooting with a 100-400L zoom + 1.4 teleconverter, something Terry always reminds me of when the topic of purchasing a used 600L comes up.
There was one eagle in the nest when my son Daren and I arrived. It flew off and returned along with its mate. I was alerted to their return by a rather large shadow one of them cast across a nearby tree.
The first eagle landed in the nest, followed closely by its mate which was carrying a fish.
Eagles are not into sharing dinner, but we did not hear any screeching or see any fighting. The two looked around after lunch.
The first eagle must have circled around as it quickly joined the second one. The two flew south amid a lot of screeching.
A while later one of the adults returned and perched out of sight in a tree next to the nest tree. It flew out to chase away a juvie which had flown close to the nest tree,
Hey, nice shots guys! Glad to see the Point Edwards eagles nesting again.
I was at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday and was greeted by a couple that told me that the eagle couple had mated earlier in the day and folks are looking at perhaps seeing hatchlings in the second week of April. We shall see!
Hey, nice shots guys! Glad to see the Port Edwards owls nesting again.
I was at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday and was greeted by a couple that told me that the eagle couple had mated earlier in the day and folks are looking at perhaps seeing hatchlings in the second week of April. We shall see!
By not fighting over the fish, the Pt. Edwards pair are acting as though they are feeding babies in the nest. However, I believe it is far too early for the female to have laid eggs.
Due to our viewing angle, Terry and I are not able to see the babies until they can poke their heads above the nest. By then they have advanced beyond the downy stage and are acquiring real feathers. Check last year's thread to get a sense of the eaglets' time table.
Much is made of the eagle's eyesight. From the website: The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.
I have often wondered: how do they test for this?
It's not as though an eagle will respond to an eye chart like the one in your doctor's office.
Thanks, Max. Last year Terry & his wife + my son & I met you & your friend at Boundary Bay while we were all looking for snowy and long-eared owls.
Terry and I have been photographing the Pt. Edwards nest and its eaglets since 2011. We appreciate the positive comments from everyone as we sometimes wonder if all our photos are starting to look alike.
I was at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday and was greeted by a couple that told me that the eagle couple had mated earlier in the day and folks are looking at perhaps seeing hatchlings in the second week of April. We shall see!
Chad, you need to add your real name to your public profile or sig line to avoid Terry and me mistaking you for Rocky.
I appreciate the info. My brother lives in Sherwood, about 10 minutes from the refuge. His son (my nephew) is getting married in Portland next month and his daughter (my niece) has expressed an interest in photography. Therefore, my son and I may be down your way to seek out the resident eagles and owls, which successfully avoided us last year.
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