Conowingo Dam

Every Thanksgiving weekend I go to Conowingo Dam to photograph bald eagles. But not this year: it was warmer than usual and I think the eagles weren’t migrating yet. But the Facebook group that I watch was showing a lot of activity at the dam, so I decided to go today.

One advantage of this later-than-usual trip is that the crowd was smaller. Not small, but smaller. I arrived at about 6:30 and the parking lot was half-empty. I went to my favorite spot on the rocks by the water. There were several gates open and a turbine was running all day. The wind was light and the temperature was near freezing. But the water was in a continuous wave action, splashing against the rocks much more than any time I can remember. The sky was initially cloudless, with a light overcast moving in later in the morning.

Bottom line: there was very little fishing activity. There was a handful of flyovers. There were a few chase events. And I shot one fight over a fish. So, not much to show.

It’s a bit early to be working on the nest…

Oops

One of several flyovers

Fighting over a fish

Red-tailed hawk

Conowingo Dam

It's November. It's Thanksgiving Day weekend. It's time to visit Conowingo Dam.

Sadly the weather did not cooperate. The forecast called for cloudy skies, clearing about dawn, cool temperatures, and breezy conditions starting late morning. They got it right, except the wind picked up early. The uncomfortable conditions and rough water (preventing much fishing) led to my earliest exit ever in the many years that I've made the trip.

The parking lot was unusually empty, only about half full. The number of photographers was way down from almost every visit I've ever made to the dam.

I picked my favorite spot on the rocks near the water and there were hardly any other photographers or fishermen nearby. The rocks were especially slippery because they were covered by a thin layer of dirt turned to mud by the overnight rain.

I got very few shots because there really wasn't much close action. There were lots of eagles flying around the far shore, even some interesting eagle chases, but nothing close enough to photograph. Nevertheless, I did get a few keepers.

Bald Eagle in Sunlight with Dark Background

Bald Eagle with a Fish

Juvenile Flyover Before Sunrise

Conowingo Dam

It's November; it's time to go to the dam. The Facebook groups have lots of really good shots lately so I decided to go to the dam today. The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly getting worse so Exelon is not running shuttle service. Get a spot to park, or leave. I arrived at 5:30AM and there were only a few spots left. All of the spots on the concrete balcony were taken. All of the spots along the fence that were unobstructed by trees were taken. Even my preferred spot on the rocks by the water was lined with fishermen and photographers. At 5:30AM! I grabbed my gear and carefully scrambled on the rocks in the dark and found a spot. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the sun started to rise. I had a beautiful look at a mid-air eagle fish fight. It was really close. But it was still dim and in the direction of the sun; there was no way to shoot it. Overall, it was a pretty slow day. There were lots of eagles in the trees behind the parking lot, and a few dozen on the rocks on the far side of the river. But most of the action was the constant black vulture flying. Even the cormorants were reduced in numbers. However, I did get some keepers. I was glad that the last sequence before I left for the day resulted in some usable shots where an adult eagle caught a fish and a juvenile was on his tail to steal it before the fish was even out of the water.

Conowingo Dam

Yesterday I made my first trip of the year to Conowingo. I timed my arrival to be about 6:15AM, thinking that was overkill and I would arrive WAY early. I got one of the final few parking spots. I dressed with four layers and a cap and gloves to keep warm. I should have brought a balaclava. OK, even after this many trips I was underprepared.

Last year was a bust because of high water levels. I've been watching the water discharge reports and the water level is way down. So I went to my favorite spot at the water's edge. I like this spot because it's less crowded, provides unobstructed views of the water and fishing action, and it's a great low perspective on eagles as they catch fish. I was there only an hour or so before the alarms sounded and the water started rising, inundating my spot. I had to retreat up onto the rocks. This left my tripod unusable because, even though I could set it up, there was no room to move behind it to follow action. I spent the rest of the day shooting handheld. Which meant my hands got cold, even with gloves on. About 10:30, the wind picked way up, raising a chop on the water and making me even more cold. Choppy water means less fishing. I went home.

Overall, I'm not happy with my results. Here are a few photos from the day.

Lens Coat is Popular

Along the Fence

Low Pass

Staring at Me

Contrast against the Rocks on the Island

Lessons from the day:

• Take more warm clothing. I can always take it off if I'm hot but I'll shiver (like yesterday) if it's colder than expected.
• Check exposure settings more frequently. I had a timer set to remind me very 20-30 minutes, but I failed to think about ISO when I checked, so I wound up blowing the best shots out.

Conowingo Dam

If it's November, it's time for Conowingo Dam eagles.

Unfortunately the weather has been relatively warm and wet, which means the lakes aren't freezing yet, which means the northern eagles aren't migrating yet. The wet weather means the Susquehanna River is really high. The water is moving very swiftly as the dam spillways are open. This is not good for photography.

Nevertheless, I visited the dam, and managed a few keepers. The first sequence here is a juvenile, probably 1st year, given the feather colors, and it caught a fish in the morning gloom and perched in a tree very close by my position, so close in fact that it was possible to fill the frame. It would have been great, except it was so dark and back-lit.

Juvenile Bald Eagle Eating a Fish

Slimy Beak after Eating

Fluffy

This eagle above perched in first one, then another nearby tree all morning. Dozens of photographers shot what must have been thousands of photographs of it just sitting there. He/she is responsible for lots of consumed storage.

All day long, there were flyovers of a pair of eagles taking sticks to a nest on one of the electrical towers. This seems WAY early to be nest building, but there they were.

One on the Rail and One on the Nest

And the last sequence was far away, near the island, as an adult attempted to snatch something from the water. I missed photographing the first part of the sequence, but watched as it seemed to crash into the water. It then floated along in the swift current until it managed to fly away. I've seen this happen only a couple of times where the bird winds up floating/swimming. The shots kind of suck because I had neglected to change my exposure settings as the sun got really bright, so I washed the whites out. And it was quite far away. But here's the sequence.

Splashed Down

Floating Along

Finally Got the Wings Out

And Liftoff

So overall it was a very disappointing day with very little activity. Even the cormorants and gulls were scarce. I only go when the forecast is for sunny weather. I think I'll also start checking for the river water level and go only when the level is low.

It's Hot!

Well July has definitely arrived in Northern Virginia. It's hot. It's humid. Even the eagles agree that it's really uncomfortable.

Do Eagles Pant?

There are two eagle nests at the refuge. One of them is now empty. The other had four eagles nearby, two parents (one shown above), and two juveniles. One of the juveniles has fledged. It was perched with its wings spread, seemingly trying to cool down. The other juvenile was down in the nest with only its head showing. The eagle shown here seemed to be panting and not interested in eating or feeding its nest-bound eaglet.

Eaglets

After a string of bad weather and just plain being busy, I finally managed to visit OBNWR again. I'm not particularly satisfied with my latest round of results, but the subjects make it worthwhile to post some of them.

Over two visits, I was able to observe two eaglet feeding events. The first was in the evening, in fading light, with the nest back-lit. I had to boost my camera's ISO to 1000 just to get a shutter speed that I could use hand-held. The sky is completely blown out to get the right exposure. I cropped and processed the photos, leading to some pretty washed-out results. And on top of that, the eagles didn't cooperate, never simultaneously showing their eyes.

Three Eagles

Feeding Time

I went back a few days later, hoping for another opportunity, this time in the morning with the light behind me. A cold, brisk gusting wind made for uncomfortable conditions and an unsteady camera, and again the eagles didn't cooperate.

Both Eagles Looking at Me

Eaglet Shows Early Wing Feathers

 After I'd been there for a few minutes, the parent got very vocal. I looked up and noticed this immature bald eagle passing through, having a hard time flying straight and level in the gusting wind.

Bald Eagle

And I had two lifers for me, so I'll post these too.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Prothonotary Warbler

Eagle Convention

I paid a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this morning. There were large numbers of Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead ducks on the water, and small numbers of Canada Geese flying around. And I sighted the usual, cardinals, a red-bellied woodpecker, a belted kingfisher, chickadees, etc. And it was a nice day for eagle sightings, albeit from a distance. I saw two pairs of eagles simultaneously harassing each other in mid-air, too far away for usable photographs. And I saw several eagles perched in trees on an island in the bay.

Eight Bald Eagles

There are eight bald eagles in this picture. Two are hard to see, obscured by branches, but they are there. They are a mixture of white-headed adults and brown-headed juveniles. The two nesting pairs of eagles were near their nests, not cooperating, too far away for usable photos.

There was one juvenile bald eagle that I inadvertently stalked all morning. I would approach it along the shoreline. Sometimes I would see it perched in a tree and it would fly away before I could get close enough for an unobstructed shot. Sometimes my first view of it was of its butt as it flew away before I noticed it. Always it flew away from me along the shoreline. I did eventually have a good close encounter with another juvenile.

Juvenile Bald Eagle Flyover

The wind picked up, it got colder, and I had enough. I headed to the parking lot. Just as I was about to get into my car, a pair of juvenile red-shouldered hawks flew by, circling each other. They hung out near the sun and I had to work to get a shot that wasn't badly back-lit. Sadly I didn't get a usable shot with both of them in the frame.

Look at the Red Tailfeathers

 In the shot above, the sunlight shining through made the red tail feathers stand out. Below is the same bird, with different light, lacking the visible red.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Frigid

During a particularly cold stretch of days here in Northern Virginia, I checked the weather forecast and it predicted a (relatively) balmy morning temperature of about 20F and clear skies for the next day. So I planned to go to OBNWR. I got up, got ready to go, looked outside and saw stars, and then checked the temperature. 8F. Could that be right?

I put on layers, went to the car, started up, and headed to the refuge. I looked down to see the thermometer in the dash: 5F. Really? I got to the refuge and parked and checked the temperature again. -2F. Now I'm thinking it's lying. It can't be that cold! The forecast was for 20F. Could the forecast be that wrong? The thermometer must be wrong.

I got out and started walking. Yeah, it was cold, but I had dressed well for it. On the way in, I had spotted an owl in the gloom, perched in a tree near the road. I walked toward the spot where I had seen it.

Barred Owl

It was so dark that I had to set my ISO to 3200 and I probably should have gone to 6400. Setting the ISO with that long lens mounted is awkward. I need one hand on the right side of the camera body, using my thumb to move the wheel. I need my other hand on the other side, holding the ISO button down while adjusting. And I need my eye to the viewfinder so I can see the illuminated ISO number change as I set it. All while the heavy lens hangs down. And I did it with my heavy gloves on. Back to the photo: I saw the branch in the way, but it was so dark that I couldn't tell whether it was in front of or behind the owl. Well now I know. Lightroom did OK reducing noise, but this was clearly a bad shot that I'm only including because it's so rare that I see any owls.

White Throated Sparrow

The most abundant bird of the day was the white throated sparrow. They were everywhere. But not much else was around. I was just about to leave; the cold was getting to my feet, when I passed this nest and saw the eagle peeking out. It's mate was nearby, deep in the trees, partially obscured, not worth photographing.

Bald Eagle on Nest

 They showed no sign of flying, so I moved on. And I found more sparrows.

White Throated Sparrow

OK, this visit was an exercise in trying to keep my hands warm without much wildlife to photograph. The cold metal of the lens foot (which I use to carry the camera/lens combination) sucked the heat from my hands right through my gloves. At least I got to see the bay completely frozen over. There were two flocks of geese huddled together and I could see no open water. Cold and almost empty-handed of photographs, I headed to the car. I drove the wildlife loop to exit the refuge and turned a corner and saw these eagles right next to the road.

Bald Eagle Mating Pair

They were in a tree near the one that contains their nest. I was able to park the car, get out (staying behind the car), and shoot for several minutes before they finally flew away.

Staring at Me

This is the first time I've ever had an eagle take flight where the initial leap was right toward me. They seem to go out of their way to show ass when they take flight.

Flying Away

Now about the cold... I surely felt it, but I didn't think it was terrible. It seemed warmer than other days when I've been out in temperatures in the single digits. Then I heard the weather report: record cold was recorded at the airport: -1F. I guess my car thermometer told me the truth.