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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle

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Bald Eagle
A bald eagle perches in a tree

Bald Eagle. Klamath Basin, California. February 13, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bald eagle perches in a tree.

I rarely see bald eagles in my home territory in the San Francisco Bay Area, so seeing them when I travel is a special treat. This area of the Klamath Basin that I visited in mid-February is known for them — in fact there is one refuge in the area that is off-limits to humans, specifically so that these magnificent birds can flourish without being disturbed. As I was out in a refuge on afternoon and driving along a levee I spotted a group of people stopped ahead. I slowed down and approached slowly, not wanting to disturb whatever they say, and I soon saw the very big eagles nest up in one of the trees. Soon I saw that there were two eagles in the tree, and I made some initial photographs.

I returned to the area again the next evening, this time with a better organized plan. Sure enough, both eagles were again out and about in the are of their nest, alternating between perching in the nest and heading out to hunt. At one point this eagle returned from a hunt, but instead of going to the nest and sharing its prize, the bird perched on a branch a few hundred feet from where its partner was in the next and it proceeded to feast on something it had caught. This provided an excellent opportunity to get a relatively close (with a long telephoto) and unobstructed view of the bird. After eating, the eagle tore some trigs and small branches from the tree and flew off to carry them back to the nest — as if to say, “Sorry, no food. But I did bring something nice for the house.”

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle

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Bald Eagle
A bald eagle perches atop a snag

Bald Eagle. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bald eagle perches atop a snag

I don’t see these birds very often, since they don’t seem to hang out much in the areas where I typically photograph. I believe that I have seen them in areas north of California in the past — I’m pretty certain that I made some (unsuccessful) attempts to photograph them in the state of Washington a few years back. Most of the large raptors that I see around here are hawks, and I get to photograph them somewhat regularly. But eagles? No.

But this week I travelled a bit further north than where I usually go to do my winter bird photography. Instead of heading more or less east from the South Bay Area, I got up very (very!) early and made a long drive north up into the Sacramento Valley, where I visited several refugees that I had not been to before. As I was coming around one large area of ponds and paying attention mostly to ducks and (lack of) geese I remembered to look up into the trees — as I do when looking for hawks in my more familiar surroundings. And there right in front of me was the beautiful bald eagle, sitting high up in this tree at the top of a single branch, unobscured by any other branches in the tree, and silhouetted against a cloudy winter sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.