Saturday, April 25, 2009

BALD EAGLE (HALIAEETUS LEUOCOCEPHALUS)



BALD EAGLE
(HALIAEETUS LEUOCOCEPHALUS)

I have not been able to get in the field for a few days, so I am going back and looking at a few images I missed before. These three images shot on April 6th at the Skagit Game Range in Western WA were unexpected.

The eagle in the nest (barely visible in the lower left) had been a bit boring to watch most of the morning. I was looking through some mud flats for shorebirds and little critters and looked up to see the second eagle fly in, make a prey drop, and immediately fly out. Barely had time to get camera in position and snap these three. There are exactly 5 seconds total elapsed time from the first to the thirds shot. Got lucky with the warm light and half decent focus.

I really love all three of these pics, mostly for the great memory they invoke of a sunny warm morning alone in the woods and fields.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200, f7.1 @ 1/320, ISO200, Aperture priority spot metered with +1/3 exp comp., auto WB



Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200, f7.1 @ 1/500, ISO200, Aperture priority spot metered with +1/3 exp comp., auto WB



Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200, f7.1 @ 1/500, ISO200, Aperture priority spot metered with +1/3 exp comp., auto WB