Eagles by the pair

There's a bit of a back story that goes with this.

This is a pair of bald eagles that is the latest in a series of eagles to nest along the last unoccupied quarter mile of shoreline on the northern Minnesota lake where we've had a family vacation home since 1983.

A woman in Chicago owned the acreage and refused to develop it, and at its tip, where it joins a river (also completely undeveloped because it's swampy), there is a stand of mature red and white pines in which the eagles have nested time out of mind.

The woman died. Her son-in-law has put the land up for sale, and the realty company says a developer is interested in buying it and dividing it up into lake lots.

The last fellow along the road before the property in question has filed an injunction against the sale. I took this photograph of the eagles on May 13 of this year. They just happened to be posing just so while I was casting nearby in the shallows for walleyes. I matted, signed and framed this print and gave it last weekend as a gift to the guy who is fighting the sale.

Enough back story. Here's the image: 30D, 400 f5.6L, iso400, 1/400 at f5.6, hh from boat.

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Hand held from a boat and no IS? That's impressive. Excellent comp too. Keep up the activism!

Excellent pose and shot Steve. Too bad there is not a nest on the property. Might go a long way to keeping the land undeveloped. Or did you say there is a nest?

I wonder how hard it would be to make a fake eagle nest?

Great capture and story Steve. I'm sure the guy will treasure the picture.

Excellant image indeed!

We have a DRI here in Kissimmee, Fl along Lake Toho that just passed and 1600 acres of prestine land will be developed one day. Out of the 1600 they say only 900 will be developed. And thats just one small part of this DRI. The whole area in question is massive in size, one good part is no lake front development from what I've read.

There are several Eagles nest on the land and while they are going to have to have a buffer around the nests they forget about the surrounding trees that the Eagles use to perch on and the babies use while fledging. I've watched them fly from the nest to 3 specific trees while learning to fly. Always using these 3 trees, two out of the three tress they use are dead trees and host a number of birds during the year. I hope they preserve the whole stand of trees but only time will tell. Do a google search on DRI's on Lake Tohopekaliga, its stagering how much land is going to be developed. Funny thing is there are hundreds if not thousands of empty homes in this county but lets build more

What a shame if they develop that land! Where are the gov't conservationalists?? (or is that an oxymoron???)

Thanks, everyone. Mitch, there is a nest on the property. For now. . .

Beautiful image.

Rob

Wonderful colors and composition---well done and hopefully will have impact on preserving the land in some way---

Beautiful. Nothing less.

Just a great capture and story hopefully the man will win the law suit

Just fantastic, Steve.

Would love to have this in my collection.

Very nice.

Excellent pose and composition Steve!

KAC
P.S. Great story. I hope they can stop it. I'm sick of development....so sick in fact that I broke down and joined the Sierra Club.

Wonderful image and story as well. I hope the guy wins! I wonder also about all the developing going on...one of our neighbors is clearing his land of trees for whatever reason. The land slopes badly to use for anything from my perspective. This is just rural farmland I am speaking about. I drove by there today and it is so muddy they can't do anymore clearing..I am praying for lots and lots of rain!