eagle eye

Driving north this morning, the fog that has lingered here for the past few days was still thick and showed no sign of abating. I worried our trip to visit the eagles in Brackendale was going to be hampered by the weather and then just as we turned on to Hwy 99, the sky cleared and the sun was shining. The scenic views along the Sea-to-Sky Highway were amazing as we could see the fog blanketing the waters of Howe Sound but above, the sky was deep blue and we had a wonderful view of the Gulf Islands. With all the Olympic construction along the highway, we couldn’t stop to take any photographs so we just enjoyed the breathtaking views until we hit Squamish. We had no trouble finding the official viewing spot on the dyke but the same could not be said for any bald eagles.

Bald eagles are the only eagles unique to North America. They start arriving in the area in mid-November and stay until mid-February but prime viewing is between mid-December and mid-January. According to volunteers at the viewing site, this year the eagle numbers have been low and today was no exception. High powered telescopes picked up only a couple of lone eagles and one young adult. Being persistent, we asked the volunteers where we might find more eagles at a closer distance and were given several options. We decided to head to the Hatchery because it sounded like the best bet.

We never found the Hatchery probably because I missed a sign along the way so we turned around and started to drive south to the golf course. That’s when my cousin Pauline, spotted the bald eagle you see above. We stopped the car, hopped out and ran across the road to get a closer view. This is the best shot of the few I was able to take before a truck rumbled by and the eagle flew away.

I enjoyed our outing today but I really feel I need a longer lens; the 55-200mm just doesn’t cut it for wildlife shots. It was almost embarrasing to be seen by other photographers on the dyke who had 600mm and larger lenses. When we continued south and sighted another eagle, a car stopped behind us and a man popped out with his camera and a large lens. We had to laugh as while we were shooting from right underneath the eagle, he crossed the road to get his shot. I am seriously considering buying the 80-400mm lens and a teleconverter before I head to Tampa next month. That reminds me, follow my link to Robert La Follette’s blog where he just announced a new book The Birds of Florida III. A beautiful closeup shot of a bald eagle graces the cover!