Moe on a Fly By

The light combined with the background saves this shot from being just another eagle shot.
Many times a shot works because of the entire scene .

Sunset Snack

The tail feathers of a eagle are used not only as a means of steering,but also as a means of Skimming across the water! Many times they sit back on their Tail feathers as they skim along the surface of the water.
Basically they stop them from going in.

Attack

I tried for years to get a shot like this! I wanted to get a good profile that was well lite. In the suns warm light ,it just made it that much better!
At this point ,he is moving very fast and I’m doing all I can to hang on. Your Panning abilitys are certainly tested with these guys!

Stalling

Many times eagles will swoop down on their prey and if they miss (and they do that alot) they will like a pendulum come up to the top of their arc and then turn. Thats what this guy is doing. He’s at the top of his arc and is about to turn to go back and hit his prey a second time. It’s also the best time to get a good shot of them. They are not moving that fast!

On Guard

This is Romeo and Juliette on their nest at Deadman Island. A passing eagle caused Juliette to take flight to push him off. Eagles ,like all birds are in a constant fight to keep their territory. The golden light also makes this shot that much better!

Oystercatchers

These happy little guys were very content when I drifted by . Many times when I find a subject,I will go up tide and shut the motor off and drift by. The trick is to guess” WHERE “upstream do you place yourself so that after 5 minutes of drifting,your in the spot you want to be?

Spread Eagle

I like this simple shot just on the basis of the way the light hits him. It shows great texture on all of the feathers.

Gotcha!!

Romeo got this guy by the head and is showing that classic “Vampire” pose. In golden light, it is a great portrait of a eagle.

Romeo

Romeo always looks so proud up on his perch ! (and he should be)
The light and moss makes this shot. I like the last 1/2 hour before sunset the most. Thats when the light is horizontal and shows more texture off of the subject.

Juliette

She does a final adjustment before coming in. This is where those tail feathers come into play!

Romeo is Disturbed

This is the final in the sequence of Romeo being bothered by Juliette’s “heavy footed” tactics.

Dropping Fastttttttttttt!

In this shot ,you can see how eagles change the pitch of their wings to descend quickly. They allow less air to go over top of the leading edge and thus drop. They do this only when they need to get down right Now !

Juliette

Juliette got a fish and was turning to the north where the Village of Opitsat is on Meares Island.

Moon Eagle

I am always watching & mindful of the moon’s cycles. It makes excellent Wallpaper for the background of ANYTHING ! It’ll always work. Unfortunately,you have a very small window of opportunity in regards to time to shoot it. Thats if there are no clouds obscuring it when it’s just right to shoot.
When the moon rises it is always faint. As it continues rising it’s brightness will keep increasing until it’s very bright in the midnight sky. Their is a small window of time when the moon has a perfect exposure on it’s way from faintness to overly bright.
I am always mindful of this & take advantage of it.
I do not know this eagle,( I think it is Romeo,but he was not in his territory)but after acouple of minutes of watching he jumped and I got this shot.

Moon Eagle (Romeo ?)

I believe this is Romeo,but he was not in his normal territory. They kind of look the same & one of the ways I know who is who,is where I see them.
They will be perched minding their business & will all of a sudden take off for no apparent reason. I know when they do this that they see another eagle & they’ve gone to put the boots to him ,or kindly see them to the door ( the edge of their recognized territory)as it were.
As you already know eagles have very sharp Talons & the only thing sharper are their eyes!

Kayaking in Lemmenings Inlet

Some locals out for a paddle. I saw them paddling and put myself in a position to shoot them looking north with Strathcona in behind.

Strathcona & Eagle from Morpheous Island

This is “Moe” & normally I do not do an ass shot,but the wallpaper was great.
An “Ass” shot ,is when the ass is closer to the camera than the eye’s of the animal. In other words,almost always when the animal is heading away from you. I always try to get the eye’s.
I like to be close enough to see that “catch light” in the eye’s. That little shine we all see in each others eye’s.
I will never be able to get that with a eagle. Maybe a penned eagle,but not a wild eagle.