Well…. That may not quite be the case.

Earlier this week, I decided to take a little hike through the woods at a local park.  I really wasn’t expecting to find anything to photograph, I grabbed my camera and my big telephoto lens.  You never know!

Sometimes it’s just nice to walk without any photo expectations and to just take in the surroundings.  I first came across a female Cardinal who decided to take a little bath in the creek.  She was fun to watch splashing around.

Had fun watching this female Cardinal take a bath in the creek

The next thing that I found were some wild purple Lupin flowers growing in the meadow.  I took a handful of photos with my iPhone 14.  The iPhone really does an amazing job with close up photos!

I continued around the perimeter of the meadow and came across a doe that was maybe 5 feet into the woods.  I backed up a bit and then sat down in the grass and let her go about her business.  I realized it wasn’t one deer but three including one button buck.  They crossed out of the woods into the meadow and gave me a few photo ops.   Eventually, they wandered out of sight and I continued my walk.

A 'Button Buck' keeping an eye on me to make sure I'm ok

A doe taking a walk through the tall grass in the meadow

I was ready to call it a day and headed back to the car.  As I was making my way back, I saw another photographer sitting on a bench and decided to go and say hello.  We chatted about photo stuff and he mentioned that he had hoped to see some eagles.

At this point, I literally looked up and past this guy and there were 2 sitting together in the tree.  Given the location and proximity to their nest, I initially thought that it was John & Sandy.

Was suprised to see this pair sitting up in the tree

The two eagles sat together for about 15 minutes enabling me to take a few portrait photos.  The male left first and did a couple laps over the lake before returning to the same branch.  I kept hoping it would try and grab a fish giving me an ‘action’ photo.  

While I had the camera trained on the male, the female must have also taken off.  When I finally took my eye away from the camera, she was gone.

I hung around for another 45 minutes, hoping the female would return or the male would take off giving me an action shot but it wasn’t to be.

It wasn’t until I got home and had an opportunity to take a look at my photos that I realized I had not seen this pair before.  The female has a little bit of brown mixed into the white on top of his head.  So it’s exciting to have a new pair of eagles in the neighborhood.

Beautiful female approx. 5 years old.  Notice the specs of brown in her white head

I’m going to try and stop back at the lake where I saw them in the next couple days and see if I can find them again.

I’m also hoping to get back to check on John & Sandy’s eaglets.  Keeping my fingers crossed but it’s quite possible that there nest will be completely obscured by leaves.

I've also added a lot of new photos to my store that you can purchase at my store. Click Here to Access my Store

As always, please leave me any questions or comments below.  I always love hearing from you.

Once the leaves fill in, it becomes nearly impossible for me to see where they are.  Plus, I believe they move around a lot more in the warmer months.  Probably heading north where it’s cooler.

So, though I’ve gone out and looked for them over the past couple of weeks, I haven’t seen much.

I did stop by John & Sandy’s nest on Monday.  The nest is nearly 100% obscured by the leaves, but I was able to find one tiny spot where I could get a clear view to the nest.

I was able to find one tiny spot between the leaves to see the nest

The 2 eaglets both appear to be doing great!  They appear to be nearly full size.  I had a good view of one of them, while the other stayed hidden behind a branch most of the time.

I expect that they will be fledging the nest very soon and heading out to start their lives. 

Neither John or Sandy were near the nest.  I’m sure that they are both making regular stops at the nest to ensure the 2 little ones are well fed.

It’s now been over 2 weeks since I’ve seen either John or Sandy.

A few of you have asked me what do I photograph outside of Bald Eagle season? 

I also enjoy the challenge of photographing humming birds.  I’ve got a great park about half an hour away that has a garden that attracts them.  I usually see them there starting in late June or July.

I’ve also got a couple other parks nearby that are left wild that attract large numbers of birds.  In fact yesterday, I wandered around one of them and came home with a few nice photos of Blue Birds.



I will also spend some time in New York City which is about an hour away from me  trying to capture unique images of the architecture, people and city life.

I do plan to keep the blog going through the summer months, but probably  not at the same frequency.

I've also been adding more photos to my on-line Store for you to purchase.  I encourage you to check these out and appreciate you taking the time to do so.

As always,  if you have any questions or comments, you can leave them for me below.

The newest addition to Eagle Family #2

On my way home, I decided to stop by and check on John & Sandy’s and their baby to see how everyone is doing..     The area where I’m able to observe them is heavily wooded and again, it’s getting difficult to see the nest clearly.

I was able to detect some movement on the left side of the nest and eventually was able to see the baby.   I then saw what I thought was one of the parents moving around in the background.  I couldn’t see the head and made the assumption it was the parent.

Eventually, it popped it’s head out and was surprised to see the brown head.  There are two babies!!  This was the first time I’d seen two eaglets at the nest.

Again, the photo isn't anything great, but you can clearly see there are two eaglets in the nest.


They both appear to be doing great.  I plan to check back on them in a few days and will provide regular updates and hopefully better photos.

Needless to say, I was very eager for the trip and hoped to come away with lots of great photos!  

Things didn’t exactly go as planned.  In previous years, I basically had to find out what time low tide was, show up at that time, set my chair down and start snapping photos.  That wasn’t to be the case this year.

I arrived around 3:00pm on Tuesday and the wind was howling.  I’d estimate it was 35-40 mph.  It was so strong,  I really couldn’t get out of the car.  I waiting through low tide at 5:30 and then stayed another 2 hours.  Zero eagles feeding.  Not one.  

Feeling very discouraged I headed to the hotel.

The weather for the morning was calling for showers and I honestly considered canceling the rest of my trip and heading for home.  At some point during my evening, I thought of something that a photography instructor had said to me.

When you’re out on a photo shoot and things don’t go as planned,  'Be willing to improvise and photograph  what nature gives you'.

With that thought in mind, I made a decision to stay for the remainder of the trip and ‘Photograph what nature gives me’.

After a good nights sleep, I headed back to the refuge in the morning.  I wasn’t there five minutes and found an eagle perched just off the road.  He gave me a few photos, then a few minutes later, I found an adult and a juvie perched together.  The day was off to a great start!

My first encounter of the trip - Early morning Day #2

Adult & Juvie hanging out on what was a very popular perch for eagles

I spent most of my day just wandering around the refuge, seeing what I could find with no plans or time constraints.  I did a couple short hikes.  I chatted up a few other photographers and really just had a peaceful relaxing day and came away with a few good photos.

Around 6:00, I decided to call it a day and head back to my hotel.  As I was leaving, I saw a beautiful adult Bald Eagle sitting on the very top of an evergreen tree.  He was bathed in the most beautiful warm golden hour light.  I snapped a few photos and decided I’d wait a few minutes and see if I could capture him flying off.

My first encounter with this eagle

He spent a great deal of time vocalizing which I enjoyed photographing

Well 15 minutes came and went, then half an hour and he was still sitting there.  My arms were screaming from my continued holding the camera to my eye.  Finally, after about an hour, he gave me an indication that he was ready to fly and took off.  I got off about 20 shutter clicks which were perfect!

This encounter was an ideal ending to a wonderful day.

I got back to the refuge the next morning a little after 6:00am.  I was treated with a beautiful sunrise and was blessed in being able to share it with an eagle I’d seen the day before.

An incredible experience to share the sunrise with this eagle

I just wandered around for a few hours and got to observe some more eagles along with some osprey, herons, and a huge male wild turkey strutting his stuff.  I also saw the biggest red fox I’d ever seen.

I decided to call it a trip around 10:00am and head for home.

While the trip wasn’t what I was expecting, it did turn out to be a successful trip and I came home with lots of photos I was very happy with.

So the advice my teacher gave me worked out. When things don’t go as planned, Photograph what Nature gives you’.

Below are some additional photos that I took on the trip.

I saw several Osprey.  They were constantly on the look out for food.

This might have been the biggest fox I've ever seen.  It was huge!!

I've mentioned before the element of luck that goes into photography.  Sometimes, you're just in the right spot at the right time and something magical happens.  I prefer to look at it slightly differently.  I like to say, I put myself into the position to get lucky.

What do I mean?

Simply, I've done all of the necessary preparations.  I have the right camera and lens.  I have it dialed in to the right settings.  I know where to go to find the eagles.  As in the case of this photo, I was willing to go out in a snow storm and I'm willing to put the time in with the hopes that something special will happen.

The day I took this picture, I had an errand to run that was close by to where I periodically see eagles.  It was just beginning to snow and I grabbed my camera, figuring I'd stop and see if they were around before doing my errand.

Typically, I can see if the eagles are on their perch as soon as I get out of my car.  With the visibility low due to the snow, I began to make my way in the direction of their perch.  Literally, not a minute later, I see one eagle fly right over my head and then the second heading in the direction of their favorite tree.

As I made my way towards the spot where I photograph them, I dialed in the settings on my camera.

I raised the camera and hammered away on the shutter button.  I had no idea how the snow would affect the cameras focus.  I just wanted to get as many photos as I could and 'hoped' that one was in good focus.

They only stayed for about 2 minutes and fortunately I got the shot!  They stayed in the area for a couple minutes and I was able to get a few more photos of them flying together in the snow.

Once they departed the area, I did the same.

Why do I like this photo?

When I critique one of my photos, the first thing I ask myself, 'Is the photo technically sound?'  By this, I mean  is the photo in focus?  Is it properly exposed?Are the light areas bright and the dark.

Also, with the snow, you immediately know that it's a cold day and they are staying close together to stay warm.   I love the gesture of the two eagles touching.  It adds the element of love and friendship to the image.  I don't feel that the photo would have the impact if they weren't touching.

So for me, this photo ticks all the boxes of what makes a good image.  It is one that I'm glad to have in my portfolio.

You can purchase this photo through my on-line store by Clicking Here

Below are a couple of others that I was able to get that same day.

I hope everyone has a good week and as always, you can ask any questions or leave your comments below.

As I've mentioned several times before, I'm observing them from a few hundred yards away and letting my long zoom lens get me close.

Below is a brief video of the eaglet.

March 25

I stopped by the nest and as expected the female was on the nest.   I didn’t see the male.  I stayed for about an hour, hoping that the male would return but that was not to be.

My view of the eagles nest.  It's at lest a few hundred yards away

Sandy still taking care of business

March 29

I stopped by the the nest once again and this time, the male was hanging out on the highest tree limb keeping an eye on things.  It was very windy and difficult to get any decent photos, so I didn’t stay long.  Maybe 20 minutes.

John sitting on the highest limb keeping an eye on things

March 31

There is a landfill just over the river in PA that I’ve been told attracts a large number of eagles.  I decided to take a ride there to see what I could find.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t much.

As I was driving, I did see a couple of juvies flying high over a lake and saw one other eagle  sitting in a tree.

I also, had some intel on the location of a nest that I was able to find and was able to get a couple of ok photos of the nest.

This eagle was sitting by a nest I was seeing for the first time

Some of the other photographers that I know have told of days that they’ve seen 20 + eagles there so I’ll have to keep checking back.

Final Thoughts

There hasn’t been much activity at my local pond.  I did have one do a very quick ‘fly by’ on Friday and saw John sitting on the cell tower when I was headed to work Monday night.

With the leaves filling in on the trees, it’s becoming increasingly hard to spot them in the trees.  They may be there, but their obscured from the trees.

When the trees are bare, it’s actually fairly easy for me to find even at a great distance.  I look for the white heads which usually stand out against the dark trees.  I use my 

I hope everyone has a good week and and as always, if you have any questions or comments, you can leave them below.

A quick FYI on the impact of the wind…

I use a large telephoto lens for my photos.  I hand hold my camera as opposed to using a tripod and in strong winds, the large lens almost acts like a sail and gets blown all over the place.  This limits my ability to get the quality of photos that I want.  Generally, I can shoot at anything less than wind of 10 mph.

March 20

I saw one eagle at my local pond where he was perched on what I call the Far Perch.  By my estimate, the far perch is probably 300 yards away.  This is way to far away to take any decent  photos. 

This is what my camera sees.  Way to far away for a decent photo

I stayed for about an hour and he never left his spot.

March 22

I got back out to the pond on Friday.  When I first arrived, I couldn’t find any eagles.  After about half an hour, I was ready to leave.  As I reached my car, I saw the local male (John) circling overhead. 

I watched him for a bit as he continued to circle.    Eventually, he dove for the water, grabbed a fish and headed back in my general direction.

I tried to grab a photo of him with his catch, but he pretty much flew right in front of the sun, which make for some impossible photo conditions.  This was the best I got.

Hard to get a good photo when he flies towards the sun

Later that day, I took a trip to check on things at the nest.  Sandy was in her usual spot doing Mom stuff.  I didn't see John when I first arrived,.

Sandy sitting on the nest taking care of business

John arrived moments later with a huge stick.  A spirited debate ensued as to where the stick should be located.  Sandy won the debate and placed the stick precisely where she wanted it.

Eagles are constantly working on their nests, adding new sticks

I hope everyone has a good week and as always, if you have any questions or comments, you can leave them below.

I actually had to cut my grass this past week.  I believe that this was the earliest I ever had to cut it.  Anyways, I digress.

I was able to get out and check on the local eagles a few times this week with good results.

John & Sandy Update

I’ll start off with an update on our expecting parents.  I did get over to check on the progress at the nest one day this week.  Sandy is still spending nearly all of her time on the nest.  At this point in the nesting season, I’m making the assumption that if the eggs are viable that they would have hatched by now.

Sandy on the nest.  Would love to know if she's looking at her babies

We won’t know for sure until any eaglets are big enough to see be seen over the top lip of the nest.  Fortunately, they do grow quickly and I’d expect that if there are babies in the nest, they’ll be visible sometime in the latter part of April.

I did see John hanging by the nest when I was there.  It’s as if he plays the role of security guard, perched  on a high branch nearby, keeping an eye on the goings on.

Eagles & Herons

I stopped by a park where I had seen eagles earlier in the season but hadn’t visited in some time.  The park has a large lake with a small island.  Generally the eagles will hang in the tallest tree on the island.  

Well, this time of year, the trees on the island become a rookery for Blue Herons.  I counted 10 separate nests within a couple trees.  

I did see an adult and a juvie chasing each other around the lake and was quite surprised to see the adult land in the tree amongst the Blue Heron nests.  Neither the eagle or the Blue Heron seemed bothered by the other.

Eagle departing the from the Blue Heron Rookery

Meanwhile at my pond…

I see eagles at my local pond most every day.  John makes regular appearances to pick up a fish or two for Sandy.  I also see periodic adults and sub-adults and juvies that are passing through.  There’s been a juvie & sub-adult that have been hanging around the pond for a couple weeks now.

Below are a few of the photos I got at the pond this week.  Though he is spending most of his time at the nest, John is still stopping by the pond to pick up take-out for Sandy.

John with something to say

John returning to the nest with breakfast for Sandy

This is the sub-adult that I've been seeing at my pond for the past week or so

Based upon my experiences from previous years, we are getting close to the end of the season where I’m able to observe the local eagles.  Truthfully, once the leaves come in on the trees, I’m not sure if I just can’t see them or if they move on for the Spring or Summer.

I’ll keep at it as long as there is something to observe and keep writing regular reports.

I hope everyone has a good week and as always, if you have any questions or comments, you can leave them 

Finally, on Friday 3/8, I did have an interesting encounter with the male I call John in his favorite pond.  

As he often does, he appeared out of nowhere and made his way to his favorite perch.  I expected him to land there but instead he dropped to the ground and landed right behind a small patch of daffodils.

John comes by to check out the pretty flowers

I don’t often see eagles on the ground.  I think this was only the second time this year that I did.  So John hung out in the flowers for a few minutes before taking off and heading to his usual perch.

John in his usual spot, keeping an eye on things

I also had a beautiful blue heron do a fly-by.  These birds look pre-historic to me and I never mind getting an opportunity to snap a few pics of one.

So that was pretty much it for this week.  The weather looks pretty good for the coming week, so hopefully I'll be able to get out a few times.

Nest Update

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get over to check on how things were at the nest.  With all of the rain and the hilly terrain at the nest, I didn’t think it was wise to visit.  Hopefully, in the next few days I’ll be able to check on things there.

Other News

I just finished taking a class with one of the top Photo Editors in the business on Selecting & Sequencing your images for your website.  It was an awesome class and I’m working on a major update to my website to incorporate what I learned in the class.  Hopefully, that will be done in the next few days.

I’ve also got a 3 days trip planned for Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware for next month.  This is an amazing location for Bald Eagles.  I’ve been there the past few years and have come away with some really good photos.

Took this one last year on my trip to Bombay Hook, NWR

Finally, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

If you’ve read my previous blog posts, I’ve shared some of the challenges in photographing Bald Eagles.  In this weeks post, I’m going to take you through an entire photo trip for Bald Eagles from planning through Post Processing and share all that I must take into account to capture images that I like.

Do No Harm

I've posted this in previous blogs, but it bears repeating.  My #1 rule for observing / photographing Bald Eagles is to do no harm.  I never want to do anything that may cause the bird to become stressed or to modify their normal behavior.

Federal regulations require you to maintain a distance of 330 feet and I'm always consciensous that I'm always outside of that distance.

I'm also mindful to talk quietly and not make any sudden movements that may impact the bird.

Planning

I’m out photographing eagles several days a week, so in some respect, I am in a constant state of planning.  I am regularly in contact with a handful of other eagle photographers and we share locations and other specific details with one another.  This helps me to determine the areas that I may want to visit for eagle photography.

I’m also constantly checking the weather.  The eagles don’t seem to be impacted much by the weather but I sure am.  I don’t mind the cold much but it is very difficult to photograph in the stronger wind.  My camera gets blown around!  For me, the perfect weather is early morning when you get the best light, calm winds and bright skies.  Oh, and a few puffy clouds in the sky make for a better background.

Gear  

I’m planning on doing an entire blog post on gear in the future, but before I walk out the door, I double check that I have charged batteries and a memory card in the camera.  Depending on how long I expect to be out, I’ll also take spare batteries.

Also, need to remember to take hat, gloves & hand warmers.  Forgetting one of these can make for a very miserable day.

Finding Eagles to Photograph

I’m fortunate, that I have a pair of eagles that frequent a small lake very close to my house.  So this is always my first stop.  If I see them upon my arrival, great.  If not, I’ll generally hang out for a while and wait to see if they’ll make an arrival.  

I’ve had a pretty good success rate in finding them this year.  I’m guessing I’ve found them on about 75% of trips.

If I don’t find them nearby, I’ve got a couple other spots I can check where I also routinely see them.  So I’ll repeat the same routine.  Waiting at each location to see if they arrive.  If not, I’ll move onto the next spot.

I’ll generally repeat the process on the way home, again checking each spot hoping to find some eagles.

Local pond where I routinely see eagles.  This is John & Sandy's favorite spot~

Taking my Photos

I’m always hoping for good action photos.  So once I’ve found the eagles, the waiting begins.  Eagles can hang out in a single spot for hours.  I’m trying to wait them out in the hopes that I can capture them launching from their perch or some other interesting behavior.

I’ve taken literally hundreds if not thousands of photos of eagles sitting on a limb or in flight and I’m less interested in these photos.  I’m always keeping my fingers crossed for the epic ‘action photos’!  

So for sometimes hours, I’ll keep my eye pressed to the back of the camera and my finger poised on the shutter button waiting for something to happen.

It seems without fail, as soon as I take my eye off the camera for even a split second, the eagle will take off or do something exciting.  I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me!

Hopefully, I’m able to come away with some good photos.  If not, that’s ok.  I still get to spend some time with these beautiful birds and feel that capturing photos is a bonus!

Below are a few examples of what I consider to be some good photos and some near misses.

While the picture below, has good focus and good color, I find it to be a boring image.  The eagle is just hanging out.  I also don't like the man-made cell tower in the photo.  Whenever possible, I try to exclude any man-made objects in my photos.

I took the next photo about a minute after the  one above.  I zoomed in a little tigher with my camera to take the cell tower out of the image.  I also like the gesture that the eagle is exhibiting by using his claw to scratch his beak.

Below are two photos of a male eagle (John) on his favorite perch.  While they are very similiar, I much prefer the second image.  I like the little touch of snow and a tiny bit of blue to the sky.  

The photos that I'm always hoping for are action shots or of 2 or more eagles interacting with each other.

Here are a couple of examples of the types of photos I'm always hoping for.

A juvenile with attitude giving an adult some aggrevation!

I love the stare down between these two!

After the Photo Trip

I estimate that I generally take between 100-150 photos per hour. So in a typical trip, I may come home with 200-300 photos.   Once I’m home after my trip. I must first copy the photos from my memory card to the external drive on my computer and make sure they get backed up properly.

I then take a quick scan through the photos.  My first pass through, I’m looking for ‘epic photos’ which I want process.  I’ll also delete any photos that are out of focus, blurry or have some other issue.

Pretty much every photo requires some level of editing.  For that I use Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom.  Once I’m done editing the keepers, I’ll set them aside to update my website or post on my various social media accounts.

If I come away with even one good photo, it is a successful session.  There are many times when I go out and come back with zero keepers.  That’s ok.  I’m also continually trying to improve.  A photo that I took a couple years ago and liked, might not make the cut today.

Beyond that, there’s always something photo related to keep me busy.  I’m always working on various articles for my blog, updating my website or taking some class to help me improve my photography.  Like most everyone else, I never have enough time to do everything I want to.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

John & Sandy Update

As I mentioned, in last week's post, I believe John & Sandy are expecting.  I checked in on them twice last week and one or the other was on the nest each time.  I can only estimate when their eggs may hatch.  My first observaton of them on the nest was on February 12.  Given that eagles incubute their eggs for 35 days before hatching, this would put their expected delivery somewhere around March 19. 

Once the eggs hatch, it will still be a while before I can see them.  Although, eagles grow very fast, I won't be able to see them until they are big enough to reach over the top of the nest bowl.

I will say that during this incubation time, it really doesn't make for great photo ops.  Sandy pretty much sits on the nest while John sits close by on a stick.  Fascinating to watch but boring pictures.

Sandy Hanging out on their nest keeping their eggs warm.

This beautiful Northern Flicker stopped by to say hello while I was photographing the nest

New eagles at the Pond

I have had 2 new eagles show up at my local pond and I saw them a few times this past week.  There is a very large juvenile female as well as a sub-adult male.  

John also stopped by the pond one day mostly hanging to far away to get any decent photos.  He did take offense to the new visitors ot the pond and was quick to chase them away.

Female Juvenile  arrived at my local pond this week.

Juvie & Sub-Adult chasing each other around the pond

The new visitors are fun to watch.  They will sit side by side for a while and then when one takes off, the other will give chase and often they will engage in some air to air combat.  The battles make for some great photo ops!

Juvie & Sub Adult engaged in some air-to-air combat

This sub-adult flew right over my  head and gave a nice salute

John escorting the juvie off his turf

John in flight

Another photo of John keeping a watchful from above

The weather for the next few days doesn't look great so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get out.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get out.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

I’m able to observe their nest from a safe distance and on three separate days this week, Sandy was sitting in the same spot in the nest.  I’m going to go with the assumption that she’s got some eggs.

John is keeping a watchful eye on the nest from nearby trees, making sure Sandy is safe.   I’m sure he’s keeping her well fed with all of her favorite foods.

Bald Eagles take 35 days to hatch.  Not knowing when the eggs were laid, my estimate is that they are due to hatch sometime in the latter part of March.

This is Sandy (female) taking care of  the babies

I was also able to get a few photos of John.  He pretty much stayed close by to the nest making sure that all is well.

The 'launch' photos are always some of my favorites

One final thing that I would like to share...

While it appears from my images that I am quite close the nest, in reality I am not.   At all times, I ensure that I'm complying with all regulations related to my distance from the nest.  

I took the photo below from with my iphone to give you an idea as to what my eye is actually seeing.

Taken with iPhone.  What my eye sees.

I use a long telephoto lens to be able to take the photo.

Straight from the camera.  What the camera 'sees'.

Finally, using Adobe Lightroom, I crop in to produce the final image.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

When Covid hit in 2020, I was unable to visit most of the locale’s that I enjoyed photographing.  I realized I needed to shift gears and begun to photograph flowers in earnest.

As the world began to reopen after Covid, I spent lots of time in parks and gardens photographing flowers.  Using what I had learned in photographing other genres, my goal was to produce flower images in a way that you hadn’t seen before.  

This photo appeared on my first magazine cover

This is probably my favorite garden flower photo I've taken

So for pretty much all of 2020 and 2021, flowers were my primary subject.  I used these pictures to publish my first book, Flowers in Isolation, which was a collection of my flower photos taken during the Covid lockdown.

My first book - A collecton of photos during the Covid Pandemic

In 2021, I thought I might give a try at bird / wildlife photography.  I bought my first super telephoto lens which is key for bird photography.  I quickly found that I enjoyed the challenges that bird photography presents.

Bird photography is definitely the most challenging photography that I’ve ever done.  In the case of Bald Eagles, you’re trying to keep your camera focused onto something that is approx, 3’ tall, often over 100 yards away and you have no idea what it’s going to do or where it’s going next.

In March of 2021, I was at a park that is literally on the edge of my neighborhood and saw / photographed a bald eagle for the first time.  My first photos of them were awful but that didn’t matter, I was hooked!   I had Bald Eagles practically in my neighborhood to photograph!

Since then, I have taken thousands and thousands of photos of Bald Eagles and gotten to have many encounters with my two buddies that I call John & Sandy.  

John & Sandy relaxing on their favorite perch

I still enjoy photographing other genre’s of photography and other wildlife but for me, nothing beats being out in a mucky swamp and be surrounded by Bald Eagles!

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

As long back as I can remember, I had a love for photographs.  You notice I didn’t say photography.  Long before I ever thought to pick up a camera I loved pictures.  I remember my grandparents and parents photo albums and flipping through them.   They were filled with photos of family events and ancestors who were  long since gone.  They took me back to holidays, vacations and other significant events in my life.  

Fortunately, I was able to acquire many of these old photos and albums and treat them as family heirlooms which I’ll pass on to my kids at some point down the road.

It wasn’t until the year 2000, that I thought photography might be something I’d like to get into and bought my first camera.  

This coincided with digital cameras becoming mainstream and affordable.  My first camera was a digital camera.  I never had an opportunity to use a film camera.  This is something I regret.  There is a certain romanticism to film and I always felt that it forces you to be a better photographer.  You only have a certain number of frames on a roll and you had to make each picture count!  With a digital camera, you can get ‘lazy’ and just shoot away.  Knowing that if the photo comes out bad, you can just delete it.

If memory serves me, I probably read a couple articles, bought a book and maybe took a class on-line.  I got this!  I'm a photographer.  Was I ever wrong.  

So my first few years as a photographer, I was bad!  I mean really bad!  Sure, every once in a while I’d get a good picture but truthfully it was probably more luck than my expertise.

I always consider this to be the first 'Good' Photo I ever took


I took lots of classes and slowly my skills improved.  I came to understand how a camera worked but was still taking mostly lousy boring photos.

I spent several years taking pictures of pretty much everything.  Landscapes, architecture, portraits, you name it!

In hindsight, I probably spent 15 years taking crappy pictures with an expensive camera and called myself a photographer.  I’d come to be a technically proficient photographer but I still lacked the artistic skills to take the types of photos that I wanted.

Around 2018, I made a decision to go ‘All In’ with my photography and see if I really dedicated a good amount of time to it, could I take the types of photos that I as satisfied with and others would enjoy.

I took classes and then I took more classes.  I learned that what I was lacking was not the technical skills of being a photographer but the artistic eye.  I needed to retrain my eyes to see beautiful photo ops and then use my technical skills to capture what I saw.

Between 2018 and the time the world shut down for Covid, I spent lots of times in New York City taking pictures of the classic architecture in New York but with my spin on it.  

Below are a few New York City Photos that I've taken.  In each, I strive to present a classic New York Landmark in a way that you haven't seen it before.

The Oculus & Freedom Tower - Long Exposure

Tribute in Light from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Empire State Building Sunrise from the High Line

I'll wrap-up this weeks post at this point.   In next weeks blog, I'll finish my story.  If you're interested in seeing more of my 'non-eagle' photos, you can check out my other photo website, www.jaxpropix.com 

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!

The temperatures warmed up here in New Jersey over the past week and that seemed to push the large number of eagles in my area out.  Where I saw 15 eagles last Saturday at a local park, I only saw 3 when I returned on Wednesday.

February 7

I did have an interesting encounter though.  As I was walking down a wooded path, I didn’t realize that there was a pair of adults sitting in a tree directly overhead until I was literally directly underneath them.  

They didn’t seem to mind me and stayed put while I backed off a bit to a more respectful distance to try and get a few photos.  

One thing that I’m always very cognizant is to make sure that I’m giving the eagles their space.  My general rule of thumb is not to ever be closer than 100 yards.  I’ve had many instances, where they’ve flown much closer to me but I never want to intrude on their personal space.

I didn't see this pair until I was literally right under them

After taking my photos, I let them be and continued to search the usual spots in the park to see if any other eagles were around.  I only saw a single eagle that was perched on top of the power line tower.  The eagle was really to far away to get any decent photos.

With more warmer weather forecast for this week, I’m not expecting to see much eagle activity at the park anytime soon.

February 8

I had a brief encounter with the female, Sandy on Thursday at the pond by my house.  I was returning from another photo trip which I’ll discuss below and saw her sitting on her usual perch as I drove by.  I stopped to say a quick hello.  She only stayed on her perch for a few minutes.  I was able to snap a couple photos.  Over the past three years, I’ve literally taken 100’s of photos of John / Sandy sitting on this same branch.

Sandy sitting on her favorite perch

Photographing Seals

I want to share another photo trip that I got to do last week.  

Each winter, a large pod seals winters in Sandy Hook Bay, about an hour from my house.  I got to photograph them a few years ago and have had in my head to try again this winter.  They hang on the same rock jetty at low tide, so they were fairly easy to find.  I’m estimating that I saw 15-20 seals.

As the tide drops, they will climb onto the rocks to rest / sleep.  Some of them were more active, swimming and leaping close to the jetty.  

I was hoping to come away with a photo of one leaping in mid-air.   This was easier said than done.  When I would see one go underwater, I tried following the wake they would make it the water with my camera hoping to capture them breaking the surface and getting airborne.  I stayed for over an hour trying to capture this behavior but unfortunately, I came away empty handed.

Once they all settled onto the rocks for their afternoon nap, I called it a day and headed for home.

It was an interesting experience and I’m glad I got to do it, but honestly it wasn’t really my thing.   I think I’ll stick to the eagles!

l got this photo when the seal popped it's head up to take a look around

The seals are lounging on rocks that are just below the surface.

If you have any questions for me, please drop me a line in the comments below and I’ll get back to you straight away!

I hope everyone has a good week.  Until next time…

I was able to get out looking for eagles 4 times this past week and found them 3 of the 4.

I’ve recently learned of the nest location of the pair that I routinely see.  (John & Sandy).  Though the nest is on public land, it is only accessible through private property.  The owner has given me permission to come onto his property to observe & photograph the eagles from a safe distance.  Do not ask me the location of the nest as I will not reveal it.  Sorry.   I’ve been sworn to secrecy!

January 30, 2024

I visited the nesting location for the first time.  Both the male & female were in the general area of the nest but not on the nest.  

In the above photo, you can get an idea as to how big an eagle nest is.  They are generally 4-6 feet in diameter, 3 feet deep and can weigh up to 2,000 pound

Sandy perched near the nest

February 1,2024

I returned to the nest and upon arrival I did not observe them.  From my vantage point, you are looking up at the nest and only able to see approx. 1/3 of the nest.  After about 20 minutes, both John & Sandy flew from the nest area to nearby perches.

I hung with them for about 45 minutes and was able to grab a few so-so photos.  John took off in the direction of the pond where I usually see him  I stayed another 10 minutes and headed out.  

I took a ride by his regular pond and he was on his favorite branch.  I watched him for a bit before he took off.

Sandy keeping an eye on the nest

After leaving the nesting area, I met up with John back on his usual perch

February 3-4

This past weekend, we experienced some beautiful weather and I had a feeling that I’d find a decent number of eagles at the county park.  

I visited both Saturday and Sunday and there were approximately 15 eagles each day.  Saturday there was lot’s of aerial activity, primarily amongst the juveniles.  

The juvies seem to enjoy antagonizing one another as they put on a quite a display of ‘aerial combat’.  This is a normal behavior as the juveniles look to find their way in the eagle hierarchy and attempt to exert some dominance.

Here’s a few photos of the juvies engaged in some air-to-air maneuvers. 

I also got to see a juvie grab a fish and then land in a tree right behind me where he enjoyed his sushi lunch.

One final photo.  I was able to photograph this adult grabbing a fish.  I was about 200 yards away but was still able to come away with an ok photo.


It looks like it’s going to be a good upcoming week of weather and I should be able to get out a  few times and check in on my local eagles. 

Until next time…

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Bald Eagle is symbol of our country representing strength and freedom.  Originally, Benjamin Franklin was not in favor of having the Bald Eagle be a symbol of the US.  He wanted the Wild Turkey to be the symbol.  He felt that Bald Eagle was a a Bird of bad moral Character.  He was quoted as saying, 'He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself. '

It is true that bald eagles are lazy when it comes to hunting for fish.  It takes them less effort to steal a fish from another eagle than to get their own.  After one eagle grabs a fish, you’ll often see one or more eagles chase after the first in the hopes of stealing their fish.  These mid-air fights for a fish are my absolute favorite to capture and also the most difficult to get!

A mid-air battle is on for a hunk of smelly old fish

In the mid 1800’s it was estimated that there were over 400,000 Bale Eagles in the United States.  However, by the 1950’s this number had shrunk to only 412 breeding pairs in the lower 48.  This was caused by the introduction of the pesticide DDT into the environment which caused the shells of  eggs to soften and not being able to hatch.

In 1967 Bald Eagles were placed on the Federal Endangered Species list and in 1972 DDT was banned  and the eagle population began a slow climb.

Today there are over 300,000 Bald Eagles in the lower 48 and there are estimated to be an additional 30,000 in Alaska.

In my home state of New Jersey, their numbers hand dwindled to a  single nesting pair in 1970.  Today, they are thriving and there are 286 nesting pairs in New Jersey and their numbers continue to grow!

Adult Bald eagles average 28-38 inches in height and have a wing span of up to 8 feet.  The female is generally 25% larger than the male.

You can clearly see the size differnce.  The male is on the left, the female on the right

After hatching, Eagles grow very rapidly and generally fledge their nest at around 12 weeks of age.  About 7-10 days before they fledge, they will begin to exercise their wings and legs, taking short flights to branches in the nest tree.

A pair of fledglings.  My guess is that they are about 8 weeks old

They may hang around the nest for another month or two ‘learning from their parents’ and honing their flying and feeding skills.  

Eagles do not get their distinctive white heads until they reach full maturity which occurs at age 5.  

A chart showing the different age characteristics of a Bald Eagle

Eagles mate for life and chose a partner around 5 years of age.

Eagles do not fly south for the winter as other birds do.  As long as they are able to find ample food, they will stay in their home area.  Their food of choice is fish, so as long as rivers, streams and lakes remain unfrozen, they will typically stay put.  

Once the water freezes, they will move south in search of open water and a new source of food.

This was the phenomena that occurred in my area in mid-January this year.    As the lakes and rivers north of me froze over, a large number of eagles moved into my area where open water and food was readily available.  This only lasted for 3 days before the local water also froze over.  However, during that time, I saw large numbers of eagles in my area.  You can read more about it in my Blog Posting from last week.  Here's the link

As long as an eagle has access to 'open water' they will remain in a given area

Eagles diet is predominantly fish though they will eat waterfowl, small animals, snakes and carrion

4 year old eagle after grabbing a fish

I hope you enjoyed this blog and found some of this information interesting.  If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below and I’ll get back to you.

Until next time...

Unlike many other species of birds, Eagles don’t really ‘fly south’ for the winter.  As long as they are able to find adequate food in their immediate area, they will generally stay put.  

Since fish are their primary food source, they will stay until local rivers, lakes and ponds remain unfrozen.  Once these bodies of water freeze, the eagles will move south in search of ‘open water’.

With the deep freeze that occurred in the northeast last week, the lakes and rivers north of me froze first, pushing the eagles into central New Jersey.  I first saw them in large numbers on January 19th which was a cold snow day.  Cold yes, but the lakes were not yet fully frozen.  

On Saturday and Sunday January 20, 21, I probably saw 20-25 eagles on a lake that was probably 75% frozen.  Most of their time was spent hanging out on the lake or in nearby trees but I did get to saw several that were fishing.

I went back on Monday January 21 and now the lake was 100% frozen.  There were still a few eagles around.  I think that I had counted 10 that day.  Then when I went back on Tuesday the 22nd, they were gone.  In search of food further south.

This was the 2nd time that I experience this phenomena.  Being aware of how the cold weather impacted the eagles behavior and getting out with my camera enabled to grab some great photos.

I took this photo during the snow storm on 1/19.  I like it in that it shows the environment in which the Bald Eagle must survive.

This is a Juvie.  With their thick feathers, the cold and snow is not a problem

Adult coming in low over the frozen lake in search of food.

Adult & Juvie engaged in a stare down

Adult & Juvie working out their differences

Having worked out their differences, the adult & juvie fly off together

I'm not quite sure what this is the remants of.  A seagull perhaps?

An adult and sub-adult flying off together

In looking ahead at the weather for the coming week, it looks like some decent weather for me to get out and check on the local eagles.

Until next time...

This is significant in eagle behavior as eagles will fly south only far enough to find open water.  So as rivers and lakes freeze north of me, it pushes a significant number of Bald Eagles into my area.

January 19, 2024

After not being able to find the eagles in the early part of the week, I took a ride to Mercer County Park on Friday.  It was snowing quite heavily which I thought could make for some interesting photos.  I probably saw around 8 eagles that day but with the low light and poor visibility it was difficult to get much in the way of decent photos.

A young juvenile hanging out during the heavy snow

Out on the frozen lake.   I was trying to capture the harsh conditions the eagles must endure in their quest for survival.

January 20, 2024

A bright sunny day but very cold and windy.  I headed back to Mercer County Park hoping to find a large number of eagles.  When I first got to the park, I probably observed 10-12 eagles over the lake.  They were hanging out on the ice, sitting in the trees and doing regular fly-by’s.  

I got my better photos within the first half hour of being there.  As the winds really began to blow, the eagles dispersed and for the next hour or so, they were much less active with only an occasional fly-by.

In all I spent about an hour and a half with them and came away with a few decent images.

On my way, home, I swung by the pond to see if John & Sandy were around.  They were on their regular perch.  I was hoping to get a photo of the two of them sitting on their snow covered perch.  As soon as I got out of my car, John took off, leaving Sandy behind for a solo portrait.

Sandy hanging on her perch.  Missed having John in the photo by seconds

The cold weather should hang around for a few more days before a thaw later in the week.  This should create some idea conditions to see a significant number of eagles in my area.

Coming in for a landing on the ice.

Another photo of a mature Adult out on the ice.

I'm not sure quite what this carnage is.  I'm thinking it's teither a seagull or Canada Goose.

Why John & Sandy?  I named them after my in-laws.  Sandy always seems to be complaining about something  to John and like my father in-law, he just puts up with it.

That's Sandy on the right complaining about something to John

I first encountered them three years ago when I first began to photograph Bald Eagles.  I found them perched high in a tree at a local pond.  I was beyond amazed to see them and have an opportunity to photograph them.  Little did I know that this would be the beginning of deep emotional connection that I would have with this pair.

Each year, they’d show up at the same perch where I first encountered them around the middle of October and be around through late March.  Honestly, they may be around through the Spring and Summer as well but with the leaves on the trees it becomes next to impossible to see if they are on their perch.

They have given me countless opportunities to photograph them as they about their business.  Sometimes I just put the camera down and watch in awe.

Do they recognize me?  Who knows?  They’ve never given me any reason to believe that they do.  I’ve never fed them or left food for them and never will.  It’s important that they do not become dependent upon humans for food which is something that I fully support.

John does like to mess with me.   He and I play what I call ‘The Waiting Game’.  We wait each other out.  Will he fly off his perch and give me something interesting to photograph or will I get to cold and head home.  John usually wins the Waiting game.   On more than one occasion, just as I get into my car he’ll launch from his perch, swoop down and grab a fish close to where I was just standing.  

I’ll typically see John more often than Sandy although over the past several weeks, I’ve seen both of them pretty regularly. 

How do I tell them apart?  A female eagle is much larger than the male.  Sandy has a more rounded body while John’s is more slender.  Sandy also been banded.  She's got a green NJ band on one leg and a federal silver band on the other.

John on the left, Sandy on the right.  Female eagles are quite a bit larger than the males

In this close-up of Sandy, you can see her bands quite easily.  On one occasion, I was able to read the Green Band and reported it to the NJ Fish & Wildlife.  It was the first report that they had had on her since being banded in 2016.

John cruising by on a beautiful Autumn day.

I went in search of the eagles 4 times last week and only managed to find them once.  It was a crazy week of weather here in NJ with heavy rain, strong winds and some coastal flooding.  Did this have anything to do with the eagles not being around last week?  Who knows?

January 12, 2024

The pair  was  perched on top of the cell tower which is across the street from their pond when I arrived around around 9:00am.

It was a crystal clear morning with bright sunny skies which make for some perfect photography conditions.  This morning, knowing that I'd have such great light, I set up my camera to take some 'super' close up photos.

They sat together for about 15 minutes and I took a few close ups before the male flew off.  Unfortunately, I missed the take-off.  Hey it happens!

In this photo, the male is on the right side and the female on the left

The male surveying the surroundings

After the male departed, I turned my camera to the female and was able to get this photo.  I love the gesture of her sharpening her talons as well as the deep blue sky which gives the photo some pop!

Female sharpening her talons

Eagles will take off into the wind and once I saw that she had turned to face the wind, I focused my camera in tight and was able to capture these 'lift off' images

I liked this photo where you can see the shadows of her wing across her face.  It was right after lift off and she still hasn't raised the landing gear.

For any photographers who may be reading my blog and wondering about my gear, I plan on doing a whole blog post on Gear but on this morning, I was using a Canon R7 camera a Canon RF100-500 lens coupled with a 1.4x teleconverter.  This gave me an effective focal length of 1132mm!  Crazy long.

We had some snow last night and am hoping to get out and hopefully get some photos of the eagles in the snow this week.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

When COVID hit, my regular photography was no longer possible and I was looking for another genre to explore that I could do within the constraints of safe Social Distancing.

I thought that Bird Photography would be of interest to me.  I didn’t have the appropriate long zoom lens which I acquired.  So now that I had the necessary rig, it was time for me to go out and find some birds.

Initially, I was interested in pretty much anything that flew and took photos in my backyard, local parks and an occasional trip to a Wildlife Refuge Area.

Along, the way, I did encounter a few Bald Eagles and in time, was able to take a few half way decent images.  I also learned, that a pair of eagles frequented a small pond near my house as well as a couple of other parks close to home.

I started to frequent these known Bald Eagle locations hoping for a sighting or a photo op.  Most days I’d go home with no decent photos but still fascinated at having the opportunity to see them and hopefully snag a photo.

So what’s the fascination?

To me, the fascination of photographing Bald Eagles lays in the challenge.  Photographing Bald Eagles is one of the most challenging subjects I’ve ever photographed.  First you have to have the right camera & lens.  Sorry, you’re just not going to get an epic photo of a bald eagle 100 yards away with your iPhone.  Ain’t happening.

Once you’ve got the right gear, you’ve got to find the eagles.  While I  won’t say it’s easy to find them, you do have to put your time in.  You will spend many hours / days, sitting next to ponds, creeks, rivers and marshes, hoping to find an eagle and if you do find one, you hope it does something interesting and if it does, you hope your skills permit you to capture that great image.

So for me, it’s definitely the challenge.  There are lots of days when don’t snap a single photo or if you do, end up deleting them all because they are dull boring images.

But in that rare instance when you’re in the right place at the right time and you’re able to capture that stunning image of such a magnificent bird, all the time and hard work is so worth it!

Below are a couple of the very first Bald Eagle photos I took.  I know they are bad, but's it's these crappy photos that got me hooked photographing Bald Eagles!

When I first took the photo above, I had no idea what it was.   It was big and pretty far away.   Came to learn it was a juvenile Bald Eagle!

My first photo of an adult Bald Eagle

My first half-way decent 'action shot'

I am presently taking an advanced photography course that will last about a year and the first question the instructor asked us to start the very first class was, 'What kind of photographer are you?  To me this was a great question as I have struggled over the past year trying to figure out where I should take my photography next.

I had a hard time coming up with an answer to the question as I have come to feel that I'd been all over the place as a photographer and I'd grown tired of photographing my previous genres and was looking for a new challenge.

It finally hit me!  I'm a Bald Eagle Photographer!  Sure, it's a very narrow genre and I doubt there are many others who consider themself to be Bald Eagle photographers but that's what I am!

I'm very fortunate in that though I live in the New Jesey suburbs, I live in very close proximity to a number of locations that Eagles frequent.  In fact, I can walk to one of their favorite locations from my house.  I try to stop by and take some pics 4-5 times a week and probably have about a 75% success rate in finding them.

Being able to be in the company of such amazing birds and with a little luck, capturing images that others will enjoy  is something that I'm very passionate about.

My plan for this Blog is to provide regular trip reports, provide tips in photographing eagles and sharing my knowledge and insight into their behavoir and habits.

I encourage you to leave me any comments and feedback that you may have.  I love to teach and mentor, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Until next time!

I call this the Waiting Game.  We wait each other out.  We see who flinches first.  Does the eagle fly off giving me a photo op or do I get cold and head for home.  Usually I lose.  That's ok.  I never tire of seeing them sitting on their perch, observing the surroundings.  It's truly a remarkable site.

This week I went out to find the eagles 5 times and found them 4 times.  What was nice this week is that I saw the female as well as the male on 2 occasions.  I'll often go weeks without seeing her but she's been around a bit more of late.

I really didn't come away with any 'great photos' this week.  I'm always hoping for good action shots but end up settling for lots of 'Bird on a Stick' encounters.

January 2, 2024

I got to the park around 10:00am which is little later than I like.  They seem to be most active between 8:30 and 10:00am.  As I pulled into the parking lot at my local park, I saw the male in his regular spot, what I call the 'Near Perch'.    As I was making my way to my regular photography spot, the female arrived and landed on the branches above the male.  

They hung together for maybe 2 minutes and then they took off.  First the male followed by the female.  I was able to get an ok photo of the female arriving and then a couple of photos of them flying off.

The total encounter was maybe 5 minutes.  

In the photo below, that is the male on the top, with the female landing on the branch above.

The male departing from the lake.

January 3, 2024

The male was on the Near  Perch when I arrived.  I was there for about an hour and he never moved.  He wins the Waiting Game today.

January 4, 2024

Not much activity today.  They were perched on the Near Prech when I arrived and they were in the same spot an hour and a half later when I left.  They once again  win the Waiting Game.

January 5, 2024

While they were around today, they were hanging out on what I refer to as the Far Perch which is probably about a quarter mile away.   I stayed for about an hour and they never moved off the perch.  Once again, they win the Waiting Game.   Way to far for my camera to be able to capture anything remotely usable.

January 7, 2024

Went to look for the eagles around 10:00am and they weren't around.   I hung around for about half an hour hoping they'd show.  They never did.  

Still a good week.  Saw them 4 times.