Day 2 of eagles (5 images)

[gymell]

Today we had better weather but I didn't get as many good shots. Partially because I stayed in one spot trying to get flight photos, and also my 1D III was giving me fits with the Error 99 - grrr! But I did manage to get a few decent photos.

They continually fight over fish. This one is yelling at an incoming eagle.
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/89004750/original.jpg

The one yelling here of course because it has a fish. Usually a few will sit around and they will take turns fighting over it. Other eagles will occasionally fly in from elsewhere to join in the squabble. This is apparently how eagle etiquette works.
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/89004751/original.jpg

This juvenile was sitting about 15 feet away. It looks to me like a first year bird. There are two other older eagles nearby with a fish.
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/89004752/original.jpg

This is one of the older birds nearby. I am hand holding the 500 + 1.4x TC here, sitting on the ground with one foot in the water!
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/89004753/original.jpg

This one just won a squabble and is taking its turn with the fish. It looks like it's catching the fish, but it's actually slipping on the ice as it lands on the already dead fish.
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/89004754/original.jpg

[Paul A]

Great series, the juvie is my favorite.

[enjoy]

Your Patience finally paid off with a very good set of pictures. All the pictures are very well captured Gymell.

[ajosteve]

These are just fantastic shots...love the action...you did well....steve

[Najo]

Great shots, like the "old man"

[canonloader]

Awesome shots Liz, are you still up there? I hope you took lot's of memory. :)

[snowyowl13]

Great series. Makes me want to go back to northern BC.

[pttenn]

I like the juvenile also. Wow you are getting some fantastic shots. Hope the sun comes out for you! What is the Error99?? Is that a common problem with the 1D3??? And what causes it??
Karen

[Reyno]

Stunning series of well captured images Liz !!!

[gymell]

Great series, the juvie is my favorite.

Thanks - I enjoy seeing the juveniles. There aren't too many of them here actually. They are definitely low on the totem pole and usually lose most of the squabbles.

[JVolz]

Great series. They're all very nice.

[gymell]

Your Patience finally paid off with a very good set of pictures. All the pictures are very well captured Gymell.

Thanks - in spite of the number of eagles here, it is still definitely challenging to get good shots. Part of that is the weather, cloudy and rather dreary doesn't make for very exciting backgrounds. Also we are usually looking down from the river bank onto mud so that's challenging too. I'm trying to apply some of the compositional principles we are learning to the photos.

[gymell]

These are just fantastic shots...love the action...you did well....steve

Thanks - action shots are fun, I'd like to get more of them!

[w7psk]

Where at are you taking these and what kind of trip planning was needed ?

I really need to get up and enjoy that, I love eagles. Although Washington State has a very large population its hard to get close like that :)

[JC4]

Another fantastic set.
Glad you're having such a wonderful trip, and thanks for sharing.

JohnC

[gymell]

Great shots, like the "old man"

Thanks - are you referring to the 4th photo? If so I should have clarified that "older" means older than the juvenile. This would be probably a 3rd year bird. They don't get the full white head and tail until about 5 years old.

[gymell]

Awesome shots Liz, are you still up there? I hope you took lot's of memory. :)

Yeah, I have about 14GB of CF cards, plus an Epson drive, and my computer. At the last minute I bought at 4GB card on sale at Best Buy (the rest are 2GB) and now I wish I had bought more! The 2GB cards fill up too quickly!

[gymell]

Great series. Makes me want to go back to northern BC.

Thanks - yes it's beautiful here in spite of the rain. I'm sure it won't be my last visit.

[gymell]

I like the juvenile also. Wow you are getting some fantastic shots. Hope the sun comes out for you! What is the Error99?? Is that a common problem with the 1D3??? And what causes it??
Karen

Thanks - I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing any sun here. That would be nice but I'm not holding my breath! The Error 99 is a miscellaneous error code that often comes up when there is a problem with a lens connection, or a bad CF card, etc. Unfortunately with the 1D III it can be a problem with the shutter, I believe, and that seems to be what I'm experiencing. I will be sending it in for the autofocus recall anyway once I get home.

[gymell]

Stunning series of well captured images Liz !!!

Thanks - I'm having a blast and hopefully will get some more good shots today!

[gymell]

Where at are you taking these and what kind of trip planning was needed ?

I really need to get up and enjoy that, I love eagles. Although Washington State has a very large population its hard to get close like that :)

I'm at the Chilkat River Bald Eagle Preserve (http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/eagleprv.htm). It's a photography workshop, but obviously anyone can come up here. The trip planning isn't too bad - if you're in WA you can catch a flight to Juneau, and then it's a 4 hr ferry to Haines. The preserve is just outside of Haines and they have pullouts along the road with great viewing.

[bromm]

Great series. Makes me want to go back to northern BC.


Lets plan a trip Dan!! :D

Liz, keep those beautifull shots coming.:D

[ak_powder_monkey]

love the first one... Nice dumpster chicken shots!

[gkwood]

Liz your sets of Eagle shots are outstanding thanks for sharing