Bald Eagle Convention at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

I've visited the refuge a few times this year without much luck finding anything to photograph. The forecast was for a nice warm, clear morning, so I tried again today. It was simultaneously the most rewarding and frustrating visit I've had in a long time. Rewarding because there were eagles everywhere. Frustrating because they were difficult to photograph.

As soon as I got to the waterfront, I started a pattern of seeing eagles in trees about the moment they decided to fly away. I missed shot after shot because of branches or they were flying away from me. I approached a shoreline eagle nest and was surprised to see a juvenile sitting near an adult. The adult was clearly a member of the nesting pair and the juvenile was clearly in the adult's territory. After about five minutes of me maneuvering for a clear shot through the trees, the adult started vocalizing and the juvenile flew away. The adult was joined by its mate for a few minutes, then it returned to the nest. So there's some behavior I've never seen until today. Farther along the waterfront I walked, with more eagles spooked, and repeat.

Then I saw one sitting in a tree, with many branches obscuring it. I thought, maybe I have a chance. I crept along, slowly approaching, hoping for a clear shot through the branches. Suddenly at least six eagles took flight from a tree beyond the one I was concentrating on, and they flew away from me. I have no idea whether I spooked them, but I don't think so. I kept trying to photograph the eagle I had stalked. It flew away.

I did get some keepers, but they aren't great work. I'll start with the eagle convention on the island in the bay. One of these is a pair, one behind the other, so this is a total of nine, the most I've ever seen in one of my shots.

Nine Eagles

Here's another shot with the birds in the left group; the middle one is actually the pair.

Six Eagles

And here are more shots from this morning.

Mating Pair Defending Territory by Screaming at an Intruder

Juvenile Eagle at Sunrise