At this time of the year it is hard to spot Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) when they are almost hidden by the vegetation. I was really excited to get a tiny peek at this one yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my first eagle sighting in months. The eagle spotted me when I tried to move in for a closer shot and flew off. It is tough get a good shot when your subject has sharper vision and quicker reactions than you do.
As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, however, eagles have “stopping power” for me—I will invariably try to photograph a bald eagle when I see one, even if it is far away and almost hidden. Besides, I figured that some of you might like a momentary respite from an almost steady diet of insect photos recently.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great capture, Mike. I had to zoom in a bit to find him.
I don’t know if this qualifies as a “great capture,” Dan, but I am happy that it was a “capture.” I am using a pretty good sized monitor to view the image, so it is easy for me to spot the eagle. Of course, I have insider information, so the playing field is not level. If I had been using my long lens I could have zoomed in a bit closer, but I was walking around with my macro lens.
I was reading on my phone.
My close-up shots work on a phone, I suspect, but I hadn’t really considered how this posting would be problematic on a small screen. I know that readability on multiple sized screens was a consideration for you when you switched templates for your blog. I’ve used this same one for eight years–it might be time for me to consider a switch too.
The good thing is that zooming in on a phone is pretty easy.
I love this photo and know that Benjamin will too! As I studied the fully enlarged photo some words from John Ruskin popped into my mind. Ruskin, a Victorian art critic and a watercolorist of merit himself, said : “When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” This is indeed a masterpiece! Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
A wonderful opportunity and photo, Mike! It’s clear in the small image, and really catching on zoom! No wonder you never pass them by! Keep the insects coming, too! 🙂
SO appreciate the line “It is tough a shot when your subject has sharper vision and quicker reactions than you do.” Good job!!
Thanks, Molly. My biggest hope is that a subject like a bald eagle is distracted or is looking in the other way or for some reason does not view me as a threat. It is also a bit easier in the winter when the leaves are gone from the trees and I have a better chance of spotting an eagle or other bird of prey.
The eagle does look to be somewhat annoyed and keeping a very sharp eye on you.
I’m laughing because I came to say it’s the happiest looking eagle I’ve ever seen and there’s Gary saying it looks to be somewhat annoyed! What would I know.. I’m only from New Zealand haha!
Now I am the one who is laughing, Liz. It’s hard to read the expression of birds, given the rigidness of their bills, so I think we create our own little narratives about what they are thinking and doing. You focused on the inner feelings of the eagle, whereas Gary wanted to emphasize its potential reaction to my presence. I like the ambiguity of the situation, which forces the viewer to think, which is never a bad thing.
Now I’m laughing with both of you, because we’ll never really quite know what they’re thinking, or how they interpret what they’re seeing, but we still try to have a fair go at guessing just the same, and trying to superimpose the facial expressions we’re familiar with onto their faces. And the end result may well be that they’re laughing all the harder at us for trying to figure them out.
Nowadays I can use a laugh wherever I can find it. 🙂
Wow–good eye, Mike. How wonderful to have spotted this bald eagle in the treetops…and you were able to get a photo, too. It’s always interesting to spot or photograph wildlife, espec. when their senses are sharper than ours. I love watching mammals, too, when you observe that first moment when they smell you, and then soon they are gone. And BTW, I never tire of your insect photos. Cheers, my friend.
Thanks, Jet. Getting the photo of the eagle was a bit of a challenge because I had my macro lens on my camera and not my long telephoto zoom. As you noted, you have to react quickly to have a chance of getting any shot when you come upon a mammal or a bird. One of the major benefits of taking as many photos as I do is that I am now really familiar with my camera and my reflexes are sharpened, which allows me to react instinctively without having to think too much about what I am doing.