Eagle Watching

Last Sunday, while my nieces were visiting, Mom and I took them on one of our many expeditions to Lake Wilhelmina to watch the eagles. Eagles winter in this area and they are such an exciting bird to spy in the wild. It was a brisk Sunday afternoon with strong wind gusts. We bundled up and armed with cameras and binoculars we traveled to our favorite viewing spot on the northeast end of the lake. It was an amazing day!! We saw six eagles soaring above the lake all at once. Two of the birds eventually flew to a pine tree across the lake where they sat side by side and viewed the shenanigans of the remaining four. Suddenly, one of the airborne eagles paused in mid-air, suspended for several seconds with talons extended before dropping to the water so fast I could barely keep tracking it with my binoculars. The eagle hit the water with an audible whop then rose with a glint of silver in his talons. The four of us watched in awed silence. What a fantastic event to witness!

Can you see the eagle? It is at the very top of the tree closest to the center of the picture. I crept closer and closer trying to get a good shot with my limited photographic equipment. To be honest, the bird made me a bit nervous. It was really keeping a close watch on me and it kept ruffling its wings. Still, I crept closer until I got this shot.

I felt like I was standing right beneath the tree and I was closer than I've ever been to an eagle in the wild. My nieces were waiting for the eagle to attack. I was pretty much thinking along those same lines myself.

We saw quite a few ducks, cormorants and other water fowl including a kingfisher. We were lucky enough to observe the kingfisher diving for a tasty morsel several times. He completely immersed himself in the water before flying up to a stump to chow down. It truly was a wonderful day. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was too busy watching. The picture below is from a Christmas card that my brother sent me. Beautiful, isn't it?