I was thrilled to spot this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The eagle was perched high in a tree, as shown in the final photo and kept looking from side to side, as though it was looking for its mate. I am not sure if the eagle was aware of my presence, but all of the sudden it took off and flew away—I should know by now never to underestimate the acuity of an eagle’s vision.
I managed to capture the first shot below as the eagle was really stretching itself out just prior to takeoff. It is an unusual pose that I really like. A split second later I captured the shot of the eagle in flight. There were several other shots in between the first and second images, but I did not track the eagle accurately enough and the eagle’s wings were cut off in those shots.
It has been a while since I last got good shots of a Bald Eagle, so I was particularly happy when this photo opportunity arose.
Here in the US, today is Veterans Day, a day when we honor all those who have served in our armed forces. Elsewhere in the world, today is commemorated in many different ways, including as Armistice Day, the day when World War I ended. Wherever you happen to live, I hope that you never forget the the brave men and women who have served and are serving on your behalf, safeguarding your freedom—we owe them all a debt of gratitude.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice Mike! Always enjoy your Eagle images! And liked your Veterans Day statement!
Spectacular shots. And perfect sentiments.
Those are beautiful photos, Mike. I love that first shot. You got him at a perfect place in the process.
Thanks, Dan. It is always hard to predict when a perched bird will take off and it is tough to stay ready to react as I watch and wait. Then there is the additional challenge of staying calm when the subject actually does something–too much excitement is almost guaranteed to ruin a shot. The timing worked out perfectly here as I was able to anticipate a bit the action as it was starting to take place.
Dear Mike Powell,
I concur with Dan Antion. Thank you for featuring my magnificent avian colleague Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) so commendably through the fruitful results of your bird-watching and excellent photography at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to commemorate Veterans Day or Remembrance Day in the USA.
I would like to augment and resonate with the spirit of your post with mine entitled 🦅 SoundEagle Guided Imagery, recently published at:
Happy November to you and Dan!
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
What a wonderfully cool and relaxing experience to become that magical eagle, soaring above it all. The graphics and the music were both amazing. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Dear Mike,
I am delighted by your reply and feedback. Moreover, I would indeed be grateful if you could be so kind as to copy and paste your reply to the comment section of my said post entitled “🦅 SoundEagle Guided Imagery“, to which your esteemed reply clearly pertains and also belongs. Please feel free to expand on your comment if you have additional matters to convey about the post and any salient aspects of its contents. Thank you in anticipation.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
I have posted an expanded version of my comment on your page. I am really in awe of your talent in creating that kind of immersive experience. Wow!
Dear Mike,
Thank you very much for submitting your very first comment to my multimedia website. I have a number of errands to attend to. When I have more time, I shall respond to your said comment with a bespoke, animated reply.
There are many more such immersive posts and pages on my website. Please feel free to explore to your heart’s content!
For example, there is another even more animation-intensive post resulting from my dramatic attempt to bring the Full Moon alive, so to speak, in the form of Music Animation with Dynamic Visualization presented in high definition and imbued with a scintillating full moon surrounded by eye-catching astronomical phenomena and stellar activities!
The post has been recently expanded to contain twelve poetic stanzas constituting my rhyming poem entitled “If My Name Were Moon Tonight…“.
As usual, in order to see all of the animations, please make sure that you view the post on my website and not via the WordPress Reader. May you enjoy to your heart’s content the mixed-media offering of “If My Name Were Moon Tonight…” and its beautifully rendered Music Animation with Dynamic Visualization on the big high-resolution screen of your desktop or laptop computer. Switch the video playback to full-screen mode with a resolution of 1920 by 1080. The animation starts calmly and will gradually climax.
There is also the opportunity to savour my own rendition of “Clair de Lune” recorded on the organ.
The direct link to the post is:
I look forward to your visiting the said post and reading your thoughts and feedback on the multimedia extravaganza there!
Wishing you a productive Friday and weekend doing or enjoying whatever that satisfies you the most!
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
👏👏, nice catch. Always fun to shoot the Eagles.
Fantastic action shots, Mike!
Great shots, Mike. I esp. like that powerful reach before launch, a “Hail to the sun” pose.
Thanks, Eliza. Interestingly enough I thought of the image using the exact same “hail to the sun” words. Great minds….
They are great, but I really like the first photo!
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Wonderful captures, Mike. Speech bubble for the first photo: “Reach for the sky, Pardner!”
Wow, that first image of the Eagle stretched out is so unusual!
Thanks, Chris. That was my reaction when I first saw the image I had captured–the body seemed unusually elongated and the wings seemed short. All I can figure is that the eagle was warming up before the actual takeoff, like a cat does to stretch out its back.
Great shots, Mike. And yes we certainly do owe a debt of gratitude and much honor to those who have served our nation…including you! 🙂
Beautiful shots. The first one especially is so unusual.
Thanks. The angle and the pose of the eagle in the first shot is definitely unusual–I have taken lots of shots of eagles, including takeoffs, and have never captured an image like that one before.
Outstanding, lively images Mike..I love these shots! Big ‘well done’ to you!
Thanks, Liz. I love photographing eagles, especially when I can capture them in action. Photographing perched birds is ok, but there is a special thrill when I am able photograph them doing something interesting or unusual.
Stunning! Royal and elegant. Wonderful shots. Superb!!! Amazed by the beauty of eagle and the picture.
Nice! Look at those feet! 🙂
Nice pics, perfectly captured.
Thanks so much. I was fortunate to react quickly enough to capture the shots. There is not much room for error and the action happens fast when a bird like this takes to the air. It’s as much a matter of luck as it is of skill to capture an eagle in motion.
Great indeed and wish you good luck in future too👍
[…] Eagle takeoff […]
Wonderful series, Mike, and perfect words about honoring those who have served on our behalf.
I’m partial to your second image where you can really see the foot–the size and power of that claw is something.