Mom Bald Eagle leaving the nest with Junior watching with awe - HAPPY 4th!

[Terry O]

Typically the adult eagle takes off toward the camera position, making for a forward facing shot. In this case she surprised me by taking off to the left - I was not focused in that direction, so was lucky to get these shots. Lighting was more or less horrific - I used a -2 stop exposure compensation to keep from blowing the whites, but it almost wasn't enough. Any more e.c. and I think Junior would have disappeared

Not sure how many attempts and hours involved in getting this shot....but many! Ask Bill Anderson

Shots taken on July 3 with a Canon 7D 500mm f4L and 1.4 tele-extender 1/2000s f5.6 ISO 320 Eval. Metering Exp. Comp. -2





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[JaniceL]

Great shots. I bet Mom and Dad when junior has his independence day.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Good shots. I was up there around 6:30pm and caught the adult perched in that large tree on the corner. The eaglets were whining, but no branching yet.

 

[Terry O]

Thanks, Janice and Bill. Hope they wait a couple more days, Bill. I watched a PBS program last evening (Nature) on Eagles. They may not branch at all - just jump up and down in their nest.....and then go for the suicide jump
They fly just fine at first - the problem is landing!