Bald Eagle Serendipity

  This is another blog post that will be more about the experience of the photographer than about the quality of the images. My good friend Mia and I spent two days this week looking for eagles – both Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles.  We found several of each species but it was a frustrating experience – driving large distances (over 500 miles) and then having bad light, bad luck, bad timing and lots of fog.   Then, an unexpected surprise!   Bald Eagle waiting for us to get home Immediately after getting home I noticed several neighbors down the street looking up in the direction of the large elm tree in my side yard.   I ignored them at first but they persisted in staring so I followed their gaze and couldn’t believe what I saw toward the top of the tree – an adult Bald Eagle!  I live in suburban Salt Lake City and have never seen an eagle in my neighborhood in almost 25 years.   Of course, both Mia and I got out our photo gear and spent the next hour or so photographing the bird.  It was challenging to get good images because of the steep angle and the fact that the eagle was buried in the tree with branches in front and all around.  There were a few angles where we could get an almost unobstructed look at the bird but even then the background is very busy and there are shadows on the eagle.      Wing stretch The eagle was very relaxed in our presence, even…

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Antelope Island

  Of the eight major islands in the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island is the largest at 15 miles long and 4.5 miles wide.  Frary Peak reaches an elevation of 6596 feet.  The island has an intriguing history, interesting geology and free roaming herds of bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer and pronghorn, in addition to a variety of smaller mammal species and plentiful birds.  It is one of my very favorite photography locations – especially for birds.  In this blog post I will present an overview of the island and some of its wildlife.  My next post will deal specifically with bird photography on the island.  The north end of Antelope Island at sunrise as seen from the causeway access road There is a 7 mile long causeway road that provides the only access to the island, which is actually a peninsula when the Great Salt Lake water levels are low.  It’s common to see a variety of wildlife along this causeway including coyotes sprinting at the first sight of an early morning vehicle, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, Burrowing Owls, Common Ravens and a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds where the water comes closer to the causeway.    Approaching the north end of Antelope Island  As you get closer to the island the water comes right up to the causeway’s edge and typically there’s hordes of waterfowl and shorebirds very close to the road.  In the photo above, several shoreline levels of ancient Lake Bonneville can be seen where wave action eroded “benches” in the sides of the…

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