My first eagle pictures of the fall 2011 season are not good. They were taken from far away and extremely cropped. They've been back in the Tampa bay area for at least a month now and I keep missing great shot opportunities. A couple of weeks ago I was on my way to the dentist for a 7:30 am appointment and saw 2 eagles sitting in a cell phone tower that sits right on a main road. On my way to work from the dentist an hour later they were gone. I haven't seen them there since but I know they are somewhere close by. I saw several eagles flying high up in the sky during my photo walk at Circle B Bar reserve but they were so far away I couldn't get a shot. This past weekend was beautiful so hubby and I decided to hike the nature trail at Honeymoon Island. We hadn't been since early spring. The eagle's nest sits all the way at the end of the trail. When we first got there we didn't see any eagles. We wandered around for a while and came back to the nest before hiking back to our car. As we stood there talking for a few minutes, one of the eagles flew in and landed on the nest. Then it flew to a nearby branch for a few minutes before taking off again. The park keeps the area where the nest is closed off so you have to watch from far away. The law states 500 ft from the nest but I've heard the nest is actually over 800 ft from the fence area. As we left, the park ranger said the female was sitting down close into the nest and she was sitting on eggs. Yeah, I'll have to head back there after the holidays.
The last two pictures are of an osprey that had just landed with a fish close to the trail. Soon the trail will be full of osprey starting to nest but it's a little early now. We saw just a few of them flying around.
Also, check out more birds at 
wow! eagles' nesting in November! how cool! and those osprey shots are great w/ the fish!
ReplyDeleteThe second sagle is excellent as are all the Osprey!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteI think your pictures came out great, esp. of the osprey!! I love visiting Honeymoon Island when I travel down to FL.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'm so glad that you got to see them!
ReplyDeleteAwesome shots of both the Eagle and the Osprey. Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThese are all gorgeous, but the last is definitely my favorite...
ReplyDeleteThese eagles look really scary with their eyes, beaks and feet! I envy people who get really nice bird shots, I am not yet venturing on them because my lenses are not for them. However, I serendipitously shot a bird and posted today, it turned out it is a rare one. You might want to see it. haha.
ReplyDeleteFabulous shots, Dina. I agree, the last one is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteKay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
I think your pics are awesome. The eagle is such a majestic bird - my favourite.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous shots, Dina! I love raptors and your photos are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteFantastic images of your Osprey Dina... so lovely to see.
ReplyDeleteEagles are so majestic!! I'm glad they are our national bird. You got some good shots even if you did have to crop them.
ReplyDeleteThe Osprey photos especially are really great. So good to be able to see the beautiful under-wing patterns.
ReplyDeleteI'd be more than happy with these Dina.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots.
330' perimeter is the Florida guidleline.
ReplyDeleteEggs laid on or around Nov 12th 2011
35 days average incubation.
This is 4th year of nesting.
Guided Walks on Osprey Trail at Honeymoon - November through March:
Wed, Sat Sun 11 am (45 minutes, moderate)
Fri 10 am (2 hours, difficult)
Info: www.islandparks.org
Great shots of two magnificent birds!
ReplyDeleteDoes anything start your photographers heart to thumping like the sight of an eagle? I know it gets me going. "Money Shots" are few and far between regardless of how many you see. The osprey shots you managed are gorgeous. Struggling fish in talon, wings spread, and coming to rest on a branch...Wow Dina, it doesn't get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteLove the eagles. I watched this past spring the Iowa Decorah Eagles webcam. I tuned in daily for months to see them hatch, be fed and eventual fledge. It was so addicting!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are amazing, Dina. I popped in here from Pineriverreview blog. Greetings, Jo, (Kenya)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots of the Bald Eagles Dina but the Osprey steal the show in my opinion. Osprey are so dynamic, I mean just look at those talons in that last photo!
ReplyDeleteNice series of images, Dina. I got my only view and pics of Great Horned Owl (thus far) very close to the Honeymoon Island eagle's nest 2 1/2 years ago. Very good trails in there. I'm in the process of observing an eagle's nest closer to home (Fort Myers area) for my fourth year and have observed what appeared to be foreplay so far this mating season. If the eggs haven't been laid yet, they should be very soon.
ReplyDelete