Camera Critters: Winter Bald Eagle Photography-A Growing Pastime

Bald Eagle: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

When I was a lad, growing up in rural Pennsylvania, eagles sightings were the substance of  tales told by the older folks, most notorious of which was the legend of "Eagle Dave", who was supposedly whisked away by a pair of eagles and raised in their nest. I have forgotten how that one was supposed to have turned out, but suffice it to say that it was a fairy tale designed to keep an adventurous youth from straying too far from the farmstead.

The bald eagle was listed as endangered in 43 states under the Endangered Species Act until 1995, when its, status was upgraded to "threatened". It was removed from the endangered species list in 2007, but is fortunately still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

In recent years, eagle photography has become a favorite winter pastime of many nature photographers. Although there are exceptions, eagles are ordinarily quite shy birds, seen only at a distance. Favorite spots to photograph the birds in our area are Conowingo Dam (sometimes they are very close here) and Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, I do see eagles at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Pennsylvania, but I only go there for a few mornings in spring and fall during the waterfowl migrations and do not know if eagles are commonly seen there in winter. Most I have seen there are also too far away for exceptional photographs. 

Blackwater Eagle

Some eagles are seen near home each year, but they are very, very, shy and it is difficult to get a camera and tripod deployed. Both of the photos featured today were taken at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Cambridge Maryland. Both are at extremely long range and taken with the 500mm F4 and 1.4 extender. The images are heavily cropped, which works reasonably well for internet use, but is lacking in feather detail for printing purposes. The first photo was taken with the Canon 7D, while the second was with the T3i. Some assume that the 7D and T3i utilize the same sensor (they have the same megapixel count), but I have heard from a reliable source that they are not identical sensors and working with these photos served to reinforce this. The 7D seems to have less noise and a more pleasing overall look to the images-- even after color correction in Photoshop. In a strange twist, I find the T3i to have a slightly more pleasing video image--at least under certain circumstances and that is using the same picture style in both cameras.

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Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Camera Critters: Birds And Scenery Make Good Subjects

 Rushing Mountain Stream Makes For Great Scenic Opportunity

I spend most mornings  in a blind by a rushing mountain stream, waiting for the wily, elusive Eastern Wild Turkey Gobblers to appear.  Many times the birds do not co-operate, but if one is not totally fixated on the turkeys and looks about for other photo opportunities, they may find other subjects that are as rewarding to photograph. These opportunities range from capturing scenic shots, to photographing other birds or animals that may appear.

While I have seen Eastern Towhee's for years, I have not had many opportunities to photograph them successfully, as they usually inhabit brushy areas where they scratch among the leaves on the forest floor for food.  This changed in April when the birds began utilizing the area around my blind.

Eastern Towhee

This bird used to be called the Rufous Sided Towhee, which still sounds like a good name to me, but for some reason it was changed.  Whatever the case, they are a beautiful bird and it was a thrill to successfully photograph the species.

The Northern or "Yellow Shafted"  Flicker is another bird that frequents our area, but has been difficult for me to photograph until this spring when one stopped by on an April morning.

Northern "Yellow Shafted" Flicker

The birds came near the blind because I sprinkled a mixture of bird seed and sunflower seeds around a nearby stump and on the forest floor.  It is perfectly legal to feed birds and turkeys, but one must not do this if they hunt turkeys from the blind and they may not hunt in the area around where the feed is spread.  They must hunt far enough away that the actions of their quarry is not influenced by the food source.

In Pennsylvania, regulations require that all bait and residue thereof be removed at least thirty days before hunting is done in that area.  This is not a problem since I have not hunted for nearly thirteen years, having found observing and photographing wildlife to be a much more rewarding means of enjoying the outdoors, so if my ex-compatriots in law-enforcement stop by the only weapons they will find will be the cameras and long lenses.

Partially Hollow Stump Makes Both A Good Background And A Natural Bird Feeder

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Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill