We were heading down on a trip to visit a friend and on the side of the road was:
THIS!!!!:
He was eating road kill and then took off in a wonderful, wide wing-spreaded flight!
A glorious sight!:
This is an over-exposed shot of him on the side of the road, right before he flew:
(I was in a hurry. It was very sunny....so I just shot the shot from my camera, no time to make adjustments!)
When he took off, he soared and soared above my head. I thanked him for letting me take his photo, but I was also a little scared he was going to land on my head with those claws!:
Here is a little blurry version of a closeup:
Look at the wingspan and those feathers!!:
And those white tailfeathers fanning out!:
Wow!!!:
One gorgeous, huge eagle:
I know they can be mean and kill other animals.
But I am still in awe of this majestic breed of birds.....
and I was SO happy to catch one on camera that day.
How exciting is that! I saw one from a distance last week and was over the moon so I can only imagine how you must have felt.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's banded too!
oh that is magniicent...so regal and awe inspiring.
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful saturday!
New England: Yes! I first saw him sitting at the side of the road and he took off as soon as I snapped that overexposed shot...I thought that was it, but he circled around flying a huge circle right above my head!!! I was nervous because I thought maybe he was going to come down over my head and try and harm me as he did come rather close! ha
ReplyDeleteBrian: Yes, they are SOOOOOOO big in person and he flew RIGHT over my head in a big circle...gorgeous! (and scary!) Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!
That is one big eagle! Since the females are 30% larger than the males, I suspect this one is a "she" rather than a "he." I've been watching an eagle's nest over at Hornby Island in Vancouver, available at this link: http://www.hornbyeagles.com/webcam.htm
ReplyDeleteThe two eggs should hatch around the end of the month. Enjoy!
EXCELLENT pics! Great job capturing him. I love seeing them, and fortunatly living in the U.P. we see them often.
ReplyDeleteDJan: It might be a female...I didn't get a chance to look at his man parts. ha
ReplyDeleteCher: yes, we are very fortunate! We have one that lives on an island in the middle of our lake every summer too...I am sure I will be photographing him later this year! Last year there was a young eagle with it, so I am so excited that we might have more than one this year here!
Wow! You managed to get some great shots! Impressive bird!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! What a thrill to see this in flight and to capture it!
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures. I would get excited too if I manage to capture all these on camera. You could be a potential National Geografy photographer. Those pictures are very clear and nice. Great job and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the amazing pictures of this wonderful creature. He is my spirit bird and I am always so excited to get to see him up close in our neighborhood of Montana. You sighting was womderful! Gail
ReplyDeleteEva: Yes, eagles are always impressive!
ReplyDeleteBossy: I was lucky! ha
Aries: You made my day with that comment. :0}
Mistaya: You are welcome..I always feel blessed to see them so close up and personal, too!
We saw several eagles in Juneau, AK while on our cruise. They're so majestic and beautiful. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE the larger birds.
ReplyDeletePearl
I didn't see blurry, I only saw majesty. I only saw a sight that I HOPE to one day see in person.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!!!
I'm happy for you!
Wow Beautiful! I hope to see one some day. I get excited when I see a hawk up close!
ReplyDeleteOh Wow Joan... That is awesome... I have never seen one in a setting like that. You were in the right place at the right time for sure. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures with us. I'm envious!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
These are totally amazing photos! I'd be so excited I wouldn't be able to hold my camera. Super nice job!
ReplyDeleteSimply majestic.
ReplyDeletePearl : Me too! Tonight, when driving home we saw a turkey vulture on the side of the road, but the sun was setting so we didn't turn around to get him on camera. Now I am regretting it. ha
ReplyDeletePat: Thanks so much!! We have an eagle or two that live on one of the islands of the lake we live on that I try and capture photos of all summer, so hopefully, you will see more photos from me of them on my blog this summer!
Jeanette: I am just like you..I get so excited to see hawks or eagles or ducks, too!
Betsy: I bet you will see one on one of your trips out to the woods to your waterfalls, some day...just keep looking. :0}
Cheryl: I get excited, don't worry...I always think I won't get a single shot of them when I try to get them. ha
Linda: They sure are...just gorgeous birds!
I can't think of a more beautiful bird....you managed to get some wonderful shots my friend, I love the ones that show him in full flight with the beautiful wing span.
ReplyDeleteLovely........:-) Hugs
Gorgeous photographs of that Bald Eagle.
ReplyDeleteYes, they kill other animals, they are birds of prey and that is how they survive. But, can we really assign the word "mean" to them? Isn't this just the way they are?
Humans also kill other animals, and we kill other human animals. And, humans can also be very mean - really mean.
Just my take on this subject. Your pics are absolutely awe inspiring.
Lindy
Just glorious!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see one of these birds flying that close. I can't imagine how big they must look then.
ReplyDeleteBernie: I am so glad you enjoyed the shots...I sure was excited to see him!
ReplyDeleteLindy: I only described him with those words because one of my other regular readers called them "mean"...but my shots show what a gorgeous, wonderful creature they really are. You are correct, that is just their bird instinct to survive. I am so glad you liked the photos. I am always thrilled to see them in person and when I catch them on film, I am so happy.
TSannie: Thanks so much. You are new to my blog, no? Welcome aboard! Hope you join(ed) on as a Follower.
Ratty: It was so close I could almost jump up and touch it...which is scary because they are HUGE. It's wingspan was probably 5 or 6 feet wide from tip to tip...you could feel the whoosh of the air. I ducked a few times and got right back in the car after getting the shots. ha
This must one of the rewards of using your camera and having it ready for the times you see something majestic as this.
ReplyDeleteI miss seeing bald eagles all the time! Fantastic pix, love the ones in flight!! :)
ReplyDeleteTechnoBabe: yes, I have learned to always take my camera in the car!
ReplyDeleteInsanity: Thanks so much...they are wonderful birds.
A lovely bird in flight! great wing span and lovely feathers. I was at the Raptor Watch for birds flying home to Siberia. The most common we saw were the Oriental Honey Buzzards ( L: 54 -65 cm, WS : 128 -155 cm) flying in on the thermals.What a sight!
ReplyDeleteWhat great pictures. They are just amazing birds. I've only seen one up close once, and I couldn't believe how big it was.
ReplyDeleteWowwww! I am blown away by his sheer majesty and beauty.
ReplyDeleteKeats: That sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteCatherine: yes, it really doesn't hit you how majestic they are until you get close to one personally.
Loree: Me too!
Wow, great capture Joan. I have to agree with DJan, from the size it is probably a female.
ReplyDeleteI saw eagles all the time when I lived in Alaska but these days they are a rare sight. Those wings are amazing.
I'm with Lindy as well, she is a bird of prey and just trying to survive.
SquirrelQueen: Good to know it was a female...her wingspan was incredible! I am glad she is trying to survive...as I admire each and every one's beauty!
ReplyDeleteOh WOW!!!! Truly awesome!
ReplyDeleteJientje: Thanks so much...they really are awesome birds!
ReplyDelete