It’s tough to sneak up on eagles. Their eyesight is so sharp and their reactions so quick that it is a real challenge to spot them before they spot you and take to the air. Yesterday, though, this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge looked right at me and yet remained in place for a little while before finally taking off.
I had spotted the Bald Eagle from a pretty good distance away and had been slowly moving closer to it. There were a lot of branches between me and the eagle, so it was virtually impossible to get an unobstructed shot.
I tried to move mostly when the eagle was looking away, but I am confident that it detected me and stared right at me, as you can see in the first image. The eagle seemed to contemplate the situation for a few moments and turned its head toward the water. Eventually the eagle decided to depart and took off, giving me a wonderful view of the underside of its white tail feathers.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I really do like the two “head shots.” I don’t find the branches at all distracting. In fact, I rather like the way the larger limb seems to separate the head from the body, and highlights it even more.
Beautiful photos, Mike. I love that first one. You have been noticed, for sure.
The white head feathers and that yellow beak look fantastic against the bold blue sky.
I was so worried about blowing out the highlights in the bright white of the eagle’s head that I used spot metering. When the camera correctly exposed for the head, most of the rest of the image was somewhat underexposed, which served to enhance the blue of the sky. I was particularly happy with the way the beak stands out–at this time of the year I am being to be starved for color.