Young Bald Eagle

It was a great day for stalking bald eagles along the Nooksack River. Sadly, most of the eagles were somewhere else. There were a few adults across the river, just out of range of course, but several of the juveniles came our way and let us get reasonably close.

The weather was misty and crisp, but not too cold that it was uncomfortable. This was the second year that Mary Jo and I have gone looking for eagles only to discover that we’re just a week or so late and that the very spot we were at was swarming with them a couple of weeks ago when they were fishing for salmon. We decided we need to get better information on when and where to find the eagles. We had fun anyway, and I was happy with this eagle shot which is the best one I’ve gotten so far. They’re quite a challenge to photograph, especially if you have less than the optimum equipment with long range lenses.

This young eagle will develop his adult plumage and color over four years. Judging from his size as a first-year, he’s going to be an enormous adult. They are such incredibly beautiful, majestic creatures.