Whenever I see large birds soaring in the sky, I will try to get photos of them. Often the birds turn out to be vultures, but this weekend I managed to get this shot of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Any day when I can get a shot of an eagle is a successful day of photography.
The bald eagle was far away and my zoom lens maxed out at 300mm, but the resulting image is still recognizable, especially if you look at it in higher resolution. As I get more experienced with birds, I am starting to look at features like the position of the wings, which, in this case, immediately make this bird recognizable as a bald eagle. I am very much in awe of experienced birders who can identify a bird quickly and accurately from the shape of its bill, the markings on its wings, or even its call. I am pretty confident that I will never reach those levels of expertise.
There are lots of signs of the changing season—for me, it’s the switchover from a macro lens to a telephoto as the default lens on my camera when walking around in a natural environment and birds start to replace insects as my primary subjects.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
That’s a good shot! I’d be happy with it too. The only time I’ve seen an eagle was when I scared one out of a tree along the river one day.
Thanks. I have seen a bald eagle only a handful of times and am really excited each time There is a site not too far from my area where eagles have nests, but I have not yet had a chance to visit it.
An eagle overhead is a beautiful sight. I rarely see them but happened to find one flying way overhead this weekend as well.
It is my wish to someday see a bald eagle in the wild. I love your photo.