Botched It

The forecast for this morning was cold and clear. I grabbed the camera and headed to the refuge. The parking lot was still in sight behind me when I saw a pair of immature bald eagles circling overhead. They were aggressively tormenting one another. I had set the ISO for the dark early light but neglected to open the aperture up and didn't notice until nearly the end of the encounter that my shutter speed was way too slow. I botched one of the best eagle encounters I've ever seen. I was able to salvage a few shots, and this is probably the best among them.

Immature Bald Eagles Harassing Each Other

  I lost sight of them and kept walking. I had noticed how slow the shutter speed sounded and selected a more sane f-stop. A few hundred yards later, I saw an immature eagle approaching. I prepared to shoot, and was stunned by the fact that it circled me, twice. It was checking me out.

Immature Bald Eagle

It seems to have some fluffy material on its forehead.

Immature Bald Eagle

After that eagle flew off, I kept walking my usual route. The ospreys were active, but not close. I didn't get much usable material from them. I like this one even though the eyes are looking away; this is a good look at its talons and wings.

Osprey Takes Flight

 I'm usually not interested in herons. I find them boring. They usually fly away as soon as they see me, but this one just stood there, and I liked the way the sun was lighting it.

Great Blue Heron

Small birds, especially the common ones, don't interest me either. Most of the other photographers I see at this refuge seem to seek them though. This cardinal just sat there in great light as I approached, so I took the shot.

Northern Cardinal

 As I walked the shoreline road, I saw several eagles hunting and harassing each other.

Immature Bald Eagle

Immature Bald Eagle

Unfortunately the trees near the shore obstructed my view and I was unable to get any more shots of eagles behaving badly. It was cold, the wind was biting, and more people were showing up. I knew their presence would virtually eliminate the likelihood of more action shots, so I headed out. I usually pass up Canada Goose shots because they are so common here. But this one just stood there looking at me and honking, so I grabbed one shot.

Irate Canada Goose

The eagle nests had no birds obviously there. I presume the parents were down in the nests, out of sight. Often there's one in the nest with a mate nearby, but I saw no mature eagles on this visit. I can't believe I messed the best opportunity up so badly. I think I'm going to have to read up on how to use one of the new camera's presets so I can be sure to get everything ready in one step.