Each December a large flock of Bald Eagles make their way south from eastern Canada to come spend the winter at Jordan Lake Dom at the mouth of the Haw river. Photographing these eagles is not easy though.
The Eagles usually start their day hanging out relatively close to the dam. The problem comes in when the sun rises over the river, causing the entire scene to be harshly backlit when trying to photograph the birds downstream. This means that cloudy (flat light) conditions are much better in the mornings for photography unless there is fog. Plus if it’s too cloudy you’ll have to bump up your ISO values to brighten your exposures which can lead to grainy looking images. Of course you could shoot at a slower shutter speed and lower aperture number (to lighten up your dark exposures) but then ya risk blurry images without utilizing a fast shutter speed, combined with a deep depth of the field. Tbh, this is frustrating. When it comes down to it, the key to success is to keep coming back and experimenting with your camera settings at different times during the day during different types of weather conditions.
Today was the first time in many years where I was rewarded with good cloudy lighting combined with little fog and multiple birds. I’m still chasing that “epic” Bald Eagle photo, today wasn’t it but as always this was a learning experience. Here are my camera settings (on a Canon R5 paired with a Sigma 600 mm contemporary lens) so that you can see the choices I made to get these shots.
*ISO 3200 (to brighten the dim lighting)
*Shutter speed 1/1000 (to capture the fast moving eagles in flight)
*F-9 (allowing a deeper depth of field for my auto focus to work with, as the birds flew towards and away from my position)
I’ve also included a screenshot of the weather conditions I recorded (via RainCrow) while I was shooting to give you an idea of what I was dealing with. I hope that this helps others who want to get photos of these beautiful birds. They truly are magnificent!
Last week, I headed down to Jordan Lake in New Hill, NC to catch some Bald Eagle action. As usual, the birds did not disappoint! Dropping out of the sky like darts, the Eagles put on an absolute clinic on how to catch the fish swimming in the icy river. It was epic to watch them hit the water with a splash and come up with a wriggling fish. Their speed is breathtaking and for the older ones, their accuracy is astounding.
Bald Eagles use a couple of fishing techniques to fill their bellies during the winter. Here on the Haw River, their favorite method is to perch in a tree and watch for a fish swimming in the water below, and then swoop down to capture it. Just before they hit the water, the adult Eagles will pull their legs up into the classic C shape extending their talons in front of them to align their strike zone with the target fish below. The immature birds are still learning this method so their legs tend to drag behind them resulting in missed strikes. With practice they’ll achieve the nearly 95% success rate that the adults enjoy.
After catching a fish the eagle will either fly back to a perching tree to eat it, or if the fish is small enough, swallow the meal whole while the bird is in flight. Occasionally, they’ll employ a second “fishing” technique by harassing one another in flight in order to get the successful hunter to lose his fish in midair. Diving and nipping at at each other the aggressor will slam into the other bird in midair in an attempt snatch the fish from the other birds talons or in effort to get the other to drop the fish for easy pickings later. It’s quite entertaining to watch and very interesting to note the difference between the hunting techniques of the experienced hunters vs. the newbies still learning the game.
While birding at Harris Lake Park in New Hill North Carolina last weekend, I was surprised by the sight of this female juvenile Bald Eagle flying low over a field near the playground area. Although I often see these impressive birds here, normally they tend to hang out on the western side of the lake where it’s less populated with park visitors.
Bald Eagles are found throughout the Tarheel state from the mountains to the coast and thanks to a ban on DDT & the efforts of conservation programs, their numbers are increasing. Although wintertime brings in migrants down from Canada there are quite a few of them that even call the Triangle region home throughout the entire year. In fact, nearby Jordan Lake hosts over 20+ pairs of breeding Bald Eagles which is pretty awesome!
Look for these large raptors hunting for a meal over large bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and estuaries. They are an especially common sight in the Lake Mattamuskeet and Jordan Lake SRA’s with varying degrees of population flux from summer to winter. Aren’t they lovely? 🙂
A few weeks ago, I took a quick scouting visit to Jordan Lake to see how many Bald Eagles had arrived. I was pleased to see a few dozen but was hoping that there would be more.
These gorgeous birds are really fun to watch hunt and squabble for a meal. As seen in the last few photos in this post, sometimes they can lose a catch just by landing on the wrong branch at the wrong time lol!
Jordan Lake is home to more than 20 pairs of nesting Bald Eagles that call this beautiful lake home throughout the year. The Haw River which flows out the lake to the south is host to a large population of migratory Eagles during the wintertime. From what I’ve observed in the past few years, this large flock can grow to 100 birds is mainly made up of un-paired adults and juveniles.
Adult Bald Eagles are accomplished anglers and are able to zero in on their prey from over 30 feet above the water. Once they commit to a fish, they bring their legs forward curling their body into a C position as their talons line up in line with their eyes in a dead focused triangle. The precision displayed in the moment that they strike their quarry is remarkable!
With a catch rate numbering in the 10% range, the younger ones are still learning the fine art of fishing but it’s really neat to watch their skills progress over the season. Most of their misses seem to come from the juveniles not bringing their legs up high enough to better focus that narrow the shot range. As with the case with many of us, they will fail over and over again, learning along the way until they are as accomplished as their elders 😉
Last week, I had the opportunity to head down to Jordan Lake near Moncure, N.C. to photograph a flocking population of migrant Bald Eagles. While snapping off some shots of a few juveniles fishing in the Haw River area, a pair of adults flew in and I got to see them swooping and sailing together right above the water.
With the breeding season underway here in central North Carolina, Bald Eagle behaviors change, as they shift from away from a largely independent life to living together as a couple. This time period is known as “pair bonding,” and it’s a critical part of their breeding cycle. As time passes, their courtship intensifies with both birds engaging in incredible aerial displays. Bonded pairs will fly high in the air, lock talons, and fall toward the earth, holding together as the ground approaches, and releasing just in time to avert disaster. It’s one of nature’s most awesome sights, and more that a little dangerous. So what’s the point of this of risky behavior?
Bald Eagle courtship rituals reinforce the pair’s commitment to each other, which is important for propagation of the species. After all, they need to stick together to hatch, feed and care for their young.
A less obvious (but interesting!) thing about Bald Eagle courtship displays is that they actually stimulate the birds so they release the appropriate hormones to optimize egg fertilization once copulation takes place.
Discovering a Bald Eagle nest is an exciting thing! My participation within the ARMY’s Corps of Engineers Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring program presents a rare opportunity to document the life cycle of these majestic birds in the wild. As a wildlife photographer, this is a dream come true! But with this experience, comes a deep sense of responsibility to ensure that my actions do not alter the birds behavior by disturbing them on the nest.
The FWS has released a Bald Eagle Technical Assistance bulletin which lays out the regulatory guidelines for the protection of nesting eagles. I have highlighted some of the finer points of the document below as it applies to my activities conducted within the scope of the ARMY Corps of Engineers Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring Program .
“Oct 1 – May 15 are the general nesting season dates used for guidance in the south east (including North Carolina). All technical assistance guidance applies to nesting eagles including adults, eggs or young, whenever they are present for breeding purposes.”
“Non-motorized recreation including hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, canoeing”
“If you repeatedly walk, bike, canoe, camp, fish, or hunt (e.g. commercial operations) near an eagle nest during the breeding season and your activity will be visible or can be heard from the nest stay at least 330 feet (100 meters) from the nest, unless the eagles have demonstrated tolerance for similar activities.
“None of these activities near a nest would disturb the eagles if the activity cannot be seen or heard from the nest.”
Obviously these regulations restrict my ability to gather behavioral data and photograph the eagles up close which is just fine because I use a zoom lens combined with the mighty Canon 5DS camera. This equipment allows me to capture photographs from a great distance away without disturbing the Eagles on the nest.
The picture below shows what it looks like form my vantage point photographing the nest that I discovered earlier this month at Jordan Lake Park.
This photo was captured with a Canon 5DS paired with a Canon 70-200 mm lens zoomed all the way in. It’s not great (yes, I know I need a better zoom lens, lol!) but it’s certainly a better view than trying to watch the birds without my camera.This is a cropped version of the same photograph posted above. The Canon 5DS’s 50 MP sensor gives me the ability to crop original photos to bring my far away subjects closer to the viewer. More importantly, I am able to capture images of the Eagles without stressing them out.
But why is it really so important for us to keep our distances from Bald eagle nests? What does the law say?
“The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The MBTA and the Eagle Act protect bald eagles from a variety of harmful actions and impacts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) developed these National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines to advise landowners, land managers, and others who share public and private lands with bald eagles when and under what circumstances the protective provisions of the Eagle Act may apply to their activities.
A variety of human activities can potentially interfere with bald eagles, affecting their ability to forage, nest, roost, breed, or raise young. The Guidelines are intended to help people minimize such impacts to bald eagles, particularly where they may constitute “disturbance,” which is prohibited by the Eagle Act. The Guidelines are intended to: (1) Publicize the provisions of the Eagle Act that continue to protect bald eagles, in order to reduce the possibility that people will violate the law, (2) Advise landowners, land managers and the general public of the potential for various human activities to disturb bald eagles, and (3) Encourage additional nonbinding land management practices that benefit bald eagles
If agitated by human activities, bald eagles may inadequately construct or repair their nest, may expend energy defending the nest rather than tending to their young, or may abandon the nest altogether.
Activities that cause prolonged absences of adults from their nests can jeopardize eggs or young. Depending on weather conditions, eggs may overheat or cool too much and fail to hatch. Unattended eggs and nestlings are subject to predation. Young nestlings are particularly vulnerable because they rely on their parents to provide warmth or shade, without which they may die as a result of hypothermia or heat stress.
If food delivery schedules are interrupted, the young may not develop healthy plumage, which can affect their survival. In addition, adults startled while incubating or brooding young may damage eggs or injure their young as they abruptly leave the nest.
Older nestlings no longer require constant attention from the adults, but they may be startled by loud or intrusive human activities and prematurely jump from the nest before they are able to fly or care for themselves. Once fledged, juveniles range up to ¼ mile from the nest site, often to a site with minimal human activity. During this period, until about six weeks after departure from the nest, the juveniles still depend on the adults to feed them.
The impact of human activity on foraging and roosting bald eagles disruption, destruction, or obstruction of roosting and foraging areas can also negatively affect bald eagles. Disruptive activities in or near eagle foraging areas can interfere with feeding, reducing chances of survival. Interference with feeding can also result in reduced productivity (number of young successfully fledged).
Migrating and wintering bald eagles often congregate at specific sites for purposes of feeding and sheltering. Bald eagles rely on established roost sites because of their proximity to sufficient food sources. Roost sites are usually in mature trees where the eagles are somewhat sheltered from the wind and weather. Human activities near or within communal roost sites may prevent eagles from feeding or taking shelter, especially if there are not other undisturbed and productive feeding and roosting sites available.
Activities that permanently alter communal roost sites and important foraging areas can altogether eliminate the elements that are essential for feeding and sheltering eagles. Where a human activity agitates or bothers roosting or foraging bald eagles to the degree that causes injury or substantially interferes with breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior and causes, or is likely to cause, a loss of productivity or nest abandonment, the conduct of the activity constitutes a violation of the Eagle Act’s prohibition against disturbing eagles.”
I think that it is important that we conduct ourselves responsibly when in the field in any capacity. Understanding the risks humans pose to altering the nesting behavior of Bald Eagles and adjusting our own behavior just seems like common sense 🙂
Nest update! I’m pleased to report that this morning, I was able to confirm that the nest site that I found a few days ago at Jordan Lake is indeed a brand new Bald Eagle aerie. I watched the pair for a little over an hour as they moved in and out of the nest before one took off and flew out of sight (to hunt I suppose). The remaining bird ended up sitting on a bare branch preening in the sun till his mate returned.
Bald Eagles lay between 1-3 eggs per clutch but I don’t believe this hen has laid their eggs yet due to her behavior at (and away from) the nest. When the time comes, their eggs will be laid about 3 days apart, with incubation beginning with the laying of the first egg. This offers full protection to the entire clutch from predators and to ensure that the eggs don’t hatch at the same time.
Each individual egg takes 35 days of incubation — give or take a few hours which means that the chicks will hatch 3 days apart. This odd laying pattern is to facilitate the success of the healthy development of at the very least, one Bald Eagle chick. When prey is scarce, the strongest of the brood (usually the first hatched) will end up eating most or all of the food due to its 3 day growth / strength advantage over its siblings. Sadly, this means that in leaner times, 1 or 2 of the chicks per brood will not make it to fledge status. In times where prey is plentiful, all of the chicks will have a good chance of survival under the care of their parents.
Luckily, the food supply here at Jordan Lake seems to be plentiful which lends itself to higher rates of success of the number of eaglets growing into adulthood here in this special place.
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
A pair of Bald Eagles at a new nest at Jordan Lake Park
Found a new *possible* Bald Eagle nest this morning while birding at Jordan Lake. Not going to say where it’s at exactly, but I’m very happy to see these two!
This is the time of year that Bald Eagles start laying their eggs, but I’m thinking that this pair haven’t started their clutch yet. Both birds rarely sat still and were busy arranging sticks and rummaging around in the nest.
I’ve reported my find to the ARMY Corps of Engineers nesting project for confirmation of possible new listing & I’ll be returning to the site over the next week to double check that this is indeed an active nest. Very cool to see these large raptors thriving in central NC. Looking forward to seeing what happens!
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
To learn more , check out the link below. Here you will find information about the programs efforts across the United States.
Bald Eagle Recovery Efforts at Corps of Engineers Projects
