The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was hunkered down in its large nest last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge but still managed to keep an eye on me through a peephole between the branches. (You may need to enlarge the first image to see the eagle, in what has been described by one of my friends as a “Where’s Waldo?” photo.) Earlier I had seen both of the eagles fly into the nest and they promptly disappeared from sight—one left a short time later.
As I watched and waited, I realized that I would have a tough time timing any shots of the eagle leaving the nest. When a bird is perched, I look carefully for indications that the bird is preparing to depart, hoping to be able to capture a decisive moment. The second shot below was the best that I could manage when I reacted to the appearance of a wing tip over the edge of the nest.
I have no way of judging the dimensions of the interior of the nest, but it looks to be really big and really deep, as you can see in the final photo. In the past, it has been hard to spot eaglets in this nest until they are old enough to climb around a little and pop their heads over the edge of the nest. I hope to see some little ones in this nest later this season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice Mike! Looks like a very large nest!
What fun watching them!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
I really liked these photos, Mike. I love the bald eagle eyeing you in the first photo. In the second photo, seeing the wings spread out in that nest demonstrated how very big the nest is. Bald eagles have a wingspan of about 6′, so this nest is huge. I looked it up, and learned that bald eagles build the largest nests of any bird in North America. Enjoyed seeing the twiggy overview in the final photo, brilliant blue sky.
Thanks, Jet. I really like the way you looked at each of the photos and understood why I chose to include them. I was trying to get multiple impressions of the nest by using some very different shots.
I found him between the twigs 🙂
Good job. It was kind of amazing that I was able to spot the hidden eagle when I was standing on the ground at quite a distance from the net.
Your eagle posts convey not only intriguing images, but vibes of PATIENCE … a wonderful encounter on this end! Thanks for sharing your experience as well as the images.
Thanks, Jazz. You have revealed one of the “secrets” of my photography. I am not necessarily the most talented photography and don’t have the best equipment. I am, however, unusually patient and persistent and that allows me to get some interesting shots that others don’t. 🙂
They are majestic creatures and not easily photographed. Nicely done!
Thanks, Ingrid. I am blessed to live in an area in which I can see bald eagles fairly regularly.
Fun capture of the eye, Mike! When you do enlarge for the eye it is just amazing to see how dense the nest side is–lots of sticks there.
It has taken a bunch of year to get to that point in the construction. Each year the eagles seem to add a bit to the nest.
Fantastic that you were able to get such sharp glimpses of the eagle amidst all of those sticks!
Like most of my shots, those images were the result of a bit of luck and a lot of patience.