This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This immature bald eagle has monofilament fishing line caught in both of its feet. The artificial bait (shrimp) is still attached to the line. This is a recipe for disaster. At some point the line is going to get snagged on a limb or other object and, unless the bird figures out how to remove it, the bird is going to die. Unfortunately, fishing lines kill a lot of birds and other wildlife.
About this time each year I think of the trips I used to make in March to photograph bald eagles around Homer, Alaska. It was always a fantastic experience. This photo was taken in Sadie Cove which is on the far side of Kachemak Bay from Homer.
A bald eagle perches on a driftwood limb on the shore of Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
There was a nice article in our paper today about a man here in Marin County who collects all things relating to the bald eagle. His name is Preston Cook. In addition to collecting, Preston has given much time to helping the bald eagle. Among his efforts were many years spent on the board of the American Bald Eagle Foundation. You can see the story here.
Today is the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s announcement that the bald eagle had recovered and would be removed from the list of Threatened and Endangered Species. It had been listed since 1967, first as an endangered species, and later as a threatened species. The main reason for its listing was the wide-spread use of DDT which had caused thinning of egg shells.
It’s mid-day and this adult great horned owl has hours to wait until darkness. In summer their hunting hours are much shorter than in winter, although they are busiest just after sunset and just before sunrise regardless of season. They prey on whatever is available. Hans Peeters, author of Field Guide to Owls of California and the West, states (page 191) that they have been known to even prey on house cats, bald eagles and canada geese. Bald eagles? Bald eagles weigh about 10 pounds. Great horned owls only weigh about three pounds. I wonder what they’d take if they weighed as much as an eagle?
I like and enjoy seeing all wild birds. Okay, I’ll admit that I like some more than others. Take today’s photo for example. It’s not a bald eagle. It’s not a peregrine falcon. It’s not a great gray owl. It’s a red-winged blackbird. Still, I was happy to have the opportunity it gave me to photograph it and to try to create an attractive image.
In March I often think of bald eagles and Alaska. I went to Homer, Alaska, several times during the month of March to photograph bald eagles. The photo opportunities in Homer, and in the inlets and bays on the other side of Kachemak Bay, were unbelievable. For more images of bald eagles and info on these birds you can visit my portfolio site by clicking on “Portfolio” above and selecting “Birds of Prey.”
