Quarry Bay, Nelson Island, BC, Canada / May 2015

This is one of my eagle favs. I have lots of eagle shots. I have an affinity to eagles and all their lore. I believe I may have been one in a previous life. When I was younger, I often dreamed of flying like an eagle. That has manifested itself into my keen interest and fascination with them.

I was writing a story for my second book (maybe a re-write), and was at my desk in my studio on Nelson Island when I saw this large swoosh out of the top of my glasses. Just as I raised my head and eyes, I caught the flash of an eagle. I leaned forward to see out the window and it put his flaps down and landed on top of a fir tree to the side of my studio cabin.

It didn’t just land on a branch, it pushed the tip of the tree over, bending it sideways and clutched its talons tight and just sat there. I rushed to grab my camera (which is always near by). I realized it wasn’t set for raw but I feared I only had seconds to take advantage of the proximity of the eagle. There wasn’t enough time to change my settings. I knew the eagle would only be there momentarily because of its precarious perch. Besides I’d lose precious moments switching lens for my 200 mm.

I slowly and quietly stepped out onto my look-out deck and it was probably not more than 60 to 70 feet away! I was slightly higher than him but not by much. That’s not a good thing. Eagles are so used to looking down on everything from a high vantage point, so being looked down upon, is alien and uncomfortable to them. My  close proximity and higher vantage point had him contemplating taking off.

I knew I had to move fast so I rested my camera on the deck railing and took a few shots. I had to change my position as I was getting some cabins and a sailboat inside the frame, from across the bay. I wanted a clean but blurred background to focus on my subject. I took about four more shots. He was agitated and then just let go and flew off. The whole time from landing to takeoff was probably under two minutes.

I was so excited. To get that close was a gift. And to be that high up without having to be in a tree or on a mountain top, was very fortunate. I downloaded the images, about 13 in total. What I hadn’t realized is that the tree had new shoots. We call them candles or fingers. It was early spring so they were a lighter green. The clarity and green really stood out, as did the brown acorns. Actually, there’s green acorns too. If you look closer you’ll see the yellow and black talons gripping the bent over tree top. The blurry background made the clarity of my subject that much sharper. The fir needles seem to be well defined too.

I also like how the pose is different. He had landed with the intent of looking out onto the bay but I was to his 4 or 5 o’clock, so he had to twist his neck to see me. Also of note is that the white head isn’t fully developed. He was about two years old. How do I know that? Because young ball-headed eagles aren’t born with a white crown. They are often mistaken for large hawks because their feathers are a brownish color. As they near two years old, they go through a molten stage and the feathers begin to turn black and their head goes white. Notice how the feathers have an intriguing shading, almost marbled. And the head still has some interspersed dark lines from the old feathers.

As a photographer, I often have to slug it out trying to capture wildlife and then for all those times with no luck or a compromised photo, serendipity strikes and I get lucky. This was one of those fortuitous moments. And really, there is no lucky photo. I still had to be ready and quick. My favorite motto from boy scouts has served me well : “Be Prepared”. Such is the nature of nature!