In that last post I talked about the photographic opportunities in the local parks of Florida. My next visit would be the pursuit of the Bald Eagles in Washington State.
First let me say, it’s really not difficult to find Bald Eagles to photograph. You can even find them in Florida. You just have to know where to look. You ask why Bald Eagles. Well, I have always loved this graceful and majestic bird. They just seem to fly with ease. There feathers on the end of their wings curl as they pump their wings for lift. You know when your in their presence when they speak. It’s a distinctive sound. Their fiscal appearance demands your attention. On top of all that it’s the national bird of the United States, so why not.
Washington State is a beautiful part of the country. I have written extensively on Washington and I like to visit when I can. Besides it’s beauty, it’s easy for me to visit because I have family there. This allows me to cut cost. When you don’t have family to stay with, you make due or find another way to cut your expenses. I wanted to expand my library of landscapes and this was to be my main goal. The best times to photograph landscapes are often during the early morning or late afternoon. During the mid day I will look for other opportunities to photograph, such as birds, elk, or deer along with other species of animals. In the area I was of Port Angeles and Sequim the weather is often overcast which makes it easy for photographing the wildlife without harsh shadows. I’d rather have a slight overcast day, but not such an overcast that it blocks out the brilliance of what the sun has to offer. You desire quality light and not dull light. I was actually hoping for a little snow storm. A heavy snow covered Fur tree would have made for beautiful photo’s. It would be my luck that it never snowed while up there on this trip. Arriving back home I found out that it snowed the next day. No such luck for me!
One day the clouds were just too heavy to be photographing landscapes. So, I set off to find some Bald Eagles. I kept looking for areas that might photograph well for landscapes when the weather was little better. You never know if the weather will shift for the better and keeping your options open is something you just have to do. I like to photograph birds doing some type of activity to give the photo’s character. A bird staring at the open sky can be boring if there isn’t something else to give character to the image. Intense colors, a sparkle in the eye can help, but often it’s not enough. My intent was to capture a photo or two of Bald Eagles swooping down for fish in the rivers of the area. I found it difficult to find a location where they might be feeding. Sometimes those pictures are just luck.
I knew of a place down the road from where I was staying that took care of Bald Eagles called the Northwest Raptor Center. The Center is a non profit organization with the goals to rescue and rehabilitate and release wildlife. It’s run by volunteers and the very dedicated lady by the name of Jaye who will gladly take donations that will benefit the Center and it’s inhabitance. Injured Bald Eagles and other raptors that need rehabilitation can be found here, but a few other species of animals are there as well. I had been there before to observe the Bald Eagles up close. I didn’t really want to photograph them there, just gather a little information about them. The Northwest Raptor Center has a website for more information and you can make donations if you wish as well. Link here: Northwest Raptor Center. You can also find it on the featured link area of the blog. Information on the subject your wanting to photograph is key if your going to have any luck at all in capturing a beautiful shots. Doing a little research will pay off in the end.
Most Bald Eagle prefer a habitat around the seacoast, rivers and large lakes with an abundance of fish. This wasn’t going to be a problem being that I was on the West coast and within a couple miles of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. I figured I would find a few Bald Eagles on my search for them and I was right. I visited the Dungenese Recreational area located along the coast of the Straights. Gathering my gear I headed that way. In deed I found them, but they were busy flying pretty far above and none that were perched in trees for easy access from roads. I needed an Eagle a little closer in range of my longest lens. So, thinking of a few other places that might be a better to photograph them. I knew of place called the Olympic Game Farm. It’s a small drive threw zoo in Sequim. I was not thinking I could photograph Bald Eagles in the Olympic Game Farm. What I was thinking was that the Game Farm sits below a cliff area with tall trees overlooking several acres of farm land and a river goes along the farm as well. The perfect area for Bald Eagles. The Game Farm was just a location that I had knowledge of. I drove to the area and positive I would see a few in this area. I drove up a hill and around the back side of the farm. There was back road to another farm that went just to the side of the Game Farm of the main road. This road sits right next to these tall trees with limbs bent over, perfect for eagles looking to perch. Plus it was pretty high up. One tree alone had over five Eagles perched overlooking the hole area. I counted over 20 eagles in the area. That was pretty good count. It was perfect for photographing. Some of the juvenile Bald Eagles were a little paranoid and flew off to the next tree over, but the adults were not afraid of me. They aloud me to photograph them for several hours. I spent most of my day patiently waiting for them to fly off or come back with something. It was beautiful opportunity and I took my time photographing these majestic raptors. I never did get the shot that I wanted. I guess it wasn’t my day, but none the less they did grace me with a few beautiful shot of them. Despite my patients waiting for them along the river I never saw them along the river. They spent most of their day perched in those trees. They would come and go, flying off to survey the area returning to the same area time after time.
Copyright © 2009 Chad Davis
Copyright © 2009 Chad Davis
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