Eagles on the Wing

An Immature Bald Eagle soars efortlessly over head

And a mature Eagle flares as it executes an abrupt turn.

The early morning lighting cast a warm glow over the eagles while in fact the temperatures were anything but warm. Even with gloves my fingers quickly became numb making functioning the camera difficult.


I'm still catching up on processing my photos from our recent visit with the eagles along the lower Susquehanna River.

The recovery of the Bald Eagle has been remarkable. Until less than two decades ago I had not heard of an Eagle sighting in my area. I remember well the first Eagle I ever observed in the wild. I was hunting squirrels one October day when a large bird flew into a nearby tree. Checking it out through a pair of 7X binoculars I could scarcely believe my eyes when I identified it as an immature bald eagle. My next sighting came the following summer and that was of a mature eagle soaring over Bald Eagle State Park in Centre County.

Little did I know that these first eagle sightings were harbingers of better days to come. Bald Eagle sightings are now quite common in my area and even the occasional Golden Eagle can be seen. Many good people worked tirelessly to return these majestic birds to our skies.

The return on the investment has been breathtaking

Conowingo Bald Eagles

During my recent Florida visit I enjoyed viewing the numerous eagles but did not have a good opportunity to photograph them.  With my work observing New Year's day on Monday January third Willard and I headed for Conowingo Dam to check out the Bald Eagle action.

Arriving before daylight we observed that the hydro plant was in operation. As daylight slowly arrived hundreds of gulls could be seen flying in the dimly lit skies.  A few Eagles began arriving as the sun began peeking over the horizon.  A fellow photographer shared that he had been there a few days before when there was about thirty Eagles present.  During our visit we there was never more than five or six eagles in sight at any one time.

Only once did I observe a Eagle pick up a fish and I was just a little late swinging the camera into action to photograph the instant of catch.  A little after 10:00 am the generators shut down and soon the eagles could be seen flying up river away from the area. 

These images were shot with my Canon 30D attached to Willard's 500mm F4 Canon lens which he so graciously loaned me while he busied himself with shoot video.

Conowingo Eagle: More Poses

Another of my favorite shots from our Conowingo Eagle Excursion it this one of the eagle looking down into the river below. I expect that it was hoping to see an injured fish floating past as it had been a number of hours since it had fed. The dappling of sunlight filtering through the trees, the open shadows containing good detail of the bird’s body set against a blue sky combined with the bird’s intent concentration made this image particularly appealing to me.

I found the intent piercing stare captured in this photograph appealing

The Conowingo eagle experience is quite different from what I am accustomed to. In my home area bald eagles are very shy of humans. Upon approach eagles here will fly away while still out of reach of even the longest of lenses. At Conowingo the hydroelectric generating dam creates an eagle smorgasbord during power generation and the birds have become acclimated to human presence along the shoreline. The situation at Conowingo presents the wildlife photographer with easy access to rare close-up eagle photo opportunities .

As our visit was late in the season, only a few eagles were present but the few that were there gave me the best eagle photos presently in my collection.

During this visit I concentrated upon the eagles and made the mistake of shooting very few frames of the scenes around me, just one more reason to go back!

With Lifted Wings: Bald Eagle

With lifted wings, the majestic Bald Eagle appears ready to fly

Such was not the case as it was merely repositioning itself to a more comfortable spot on the branch.

When viewing and photographing Bald Eagles I cannot help but think of how they were perceived by our forefathers. First over the objection of Benjamin Franklin the Bald Eagle was named as our national bird, and then followed the slaughter. As a predator they were lumped with all other predators into a class of wildlife considered vermin and to be killed any way possible. Alaska even paid a bounty for the killing of eagles which resulted in the death of some 128,000 eagles over 36 years, ending in 1953.

Eagle Expressions

During our visit to Conowingo Dam Willard & I spent quite a few hours with this perched eagle. While it may have seemed a waste to some to wait and photograph this one eagle over a span of time, that is not the case. During this time span the lighting changed, the eagle shifted position, and changed its expression frequently.

In this first shot the wind has ruffled the feathers on the back of the head and the slight shadow cast by its eyebrow imparts a stern uncompromising expression to our subject.

With open mouth and evenly lit by direct sunlight the eagle appears entirely different in this frame.

Freedom Skies

Nothing symbolizes Freedom more than a soaring American Bald Eagle

I photographed this beautifully marked eagle at Conowingo Dam, near Baltimore Maryland. Take notice of the white feathers in the wings and the black fringing of the tail; this eagle is making the transition into adulthood. Bald Eagles reach full maturity by five years of age.

Earlier in the morning I observed this eagle catch a fish and then alight in a nearby tree to feed. The poor lighting precluded any acceptable images but the light improved before it took flight allowing me to capture this image of the transitioning Bald Eagle.

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Conowingo Eagle

Planning on an early departure Willard and I began the trip to Conowingo Dam at 3:30 to get us there at first light. After having and planned an earlier trip which was thwarted by heavy snows it was good to get on the road to a new photographic adventure.

The internet has been buzzing about the Bald Eagles that hang out around the dam during winter feeding on the fish that are killed, injured, or stunned passing through the turbines of the hydro plant and finally we were on our way to check it out for ourselves.

The trip down was quite uneventful and what looked to be a promising beautiful sunrise lost its color moments after it began but our main interest lay in the eagles and it only took a few minutes to spot the first one sitting on a power line tower.

Hydro generation began while it was still too dark for flight shots and the eagles concluded their fishing rather quickly. After photographing a transition phase eagle eating its catch high in a tree another photographer advised us as to where an adult was perched. Walking up to that location we immediately set to work photographing the accommodating eagle trying to always be ready for when the eagle decided to depart, hoping to capture its image as it launched into flight. Little did we know that it would not be until four hours and forty-five minutes later that it would soar off and at that precise moment neither of us was ready!

During the time the eagle posed there were some interesting moments such as this shot when it ruffled its feathers.

For more photographs and information on this adventure visit Willard over at Pa Wildlife Photographer.


I expected this trip to be the photographic highlight of the weekend and indeed it was a good productive trip but little did I know that it would pale when compared to what was to transpire Saturday morning. Stop back in a day or two and I will fill you in with stunning photos of a totally unexpected wildlife event.


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