This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched just above the large nest last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was ready when the eagle started to extend its wings, as you can see in the first photo, and managed to capture a series of shots during its takeoff. The images show a variety of the wing positions used by the eagle to lift off and fly forward.
The wings of the eagle were so long that when it extended them upwards, the tips were out of the frame—note that the eagle’s feet were still on the perch in the second photo. When the eagle extended its wings fully to the side and moved upwards into the air, I once again was not quick enough to zoom out and clipped the tips of one wing in the third shot. The final two photos show some additional positions of the wings as the eagle continued to move away from its perch.
The day when I captured these images was an unusually fruitful one for me. I had multiple encounters with eagles and came away with some pretty good shots. As most wildlife photographers are well aware, those kind of day are quite rare, so I was happy to take advantage of my good fortune when the opportunities arose.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Eagles are realy magic to me, we rarely see one here where I live.
Great series, Mike. It is hard to get perfection on all shots. You should be happy with these!
Wowzer! What a fabulous series of photos.
That’s gorgeous, would love to photograph one in the wild
Fun series, Mike, and I just love how you’ve captured the power and those tremendous talons.
I’ve tried being zoomed further out than I think I’ll need when anticipating a takeoff, but often can’t manage to stay that way until the moment arrives.
Very nice Eagle images Mike! Always fun to see & photograph Bald Eagles!