Back on Tuesday, we published video and photos from Gary … now, Cynthia sends two close-up looks at a high-flying Alki regular:
Cynthia took those photos near Cactus on Sunday. So — how many bald eagles are around here, you ask? Here’s one measure: The Seattle Audubon Christmas Bird Count tallied 54 within a 7.5-mile radius of Pioneer Square; see the results here.
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Cynthia had one more photo to share:
There is an almost-adult bald eagle (I’ve watched his feathers changing from mottled to white, his tail is not quite done) who frequents the area between Fauntleroy Cove and Fauntleroy Park. I think he may live in the park. The other day I watched him consume his prey in a pine tree while being harassed by crows. It was incredibly cool, and I love seeing him in the neighborhood!
Most often the two eagles seen in the large tree across from Cactus Restaurant are Romero and Juliet. Their aerie is directly across from Salty’s.
You’ll often see their juveniles in the same tree.
Very cool pics.
And interesting that people are critical of the crows. Noticed it in this and the previous eagle post. Never hear about the robins that harass the crows. Perhaps we’re just observant, or maybe we need avian hierarchy sensitivity training? Just a thought.
There are a few eagles that hang out south of the ferry dock in the very tall trees about a block east of the waters edge. I can see them plainly from my place above Endolyne Joe’s.
Wow, what an awesome picture.
@Peter – I think crows rock too. So smart!! The Starlings I may be a little less tolerant of.. maybe i still that training? :)
Cynthia – what kind of lens are you using for these shots…just wondering how close you were? They are FABULOUS pictures….
The other day I was sitting in my living room which faces west, and an eagle flew by about 10 feet from my house and about 10 feet above ground – close enough for me to see his/her eyes. Probably a once in a lifetime experience.
Very cool pics.
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Peter: Those pesky crows are right down there at the bottom of my personal hierarchy. They’re too loud, troublesome and smart for their own good. I’ve never liked them since they helped the seagulls to attack Tippi Hedren and set the town of Bodega Bay on fire. Any bird that is not intimidated by Suzanne Pleshette’s deep, sultry voice is not to be trusted in my humble opinion.
.
PS: Hummingbirds and cool birds of prey RULE!
Crows rock! They can make tools from everyday objects found on their jaunts – they use them to dig into garbage and such. (Next: they might start a car break in gang with these tools. “The Alki Crow Gang.”)
Serious, they are very smart and I think funny birds (maybe they tease eagles because they get a bad rap and have eagle envy. Stunning eagle pictures by the way….
MNGirl, we recently purchased a Nikon D90 digi SLR.. the lens we used was Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens … pics were taken standing next to the tree. We are very new to the digital SLR medium and are having a great time learning, especially with such great subjects!
Love these fotos. We have a baldie that hangs out in the KEnt valley each winter, as well as one at PLU.
I am drooling over these wonderful photos! I would love to learn to take such beautiful pictures!!! Thank you for sharing!
Fabulous shots!!
and crows do rock! the eagle could take one out in a minute if it truly wanted to. i’ve seen them do that to a seagull.
last year at lincoln park, i observed three juveniles, one at a time, fly into the park from blake island area. there was one adult at the park, near the nest at the time. all four birds soared around the area near the nest. the adult finally landed on what had to be the tiniet pointy tree – seeming to me to say, ok kids, off with you. the juveniles tried to land near the adult but the tree wouldn’t support them, so they finally all got the message and flew off north together. weird. i don’t think that nest at lincoln park is viable anymore so maybe they have moved to a new tree.
Hey Cynthia
Check out the web site http://www.dpreview.com -it’s a great site for digital photo information, product reviews, helpful hints and, especially fun, photo challenges that you can get ideas from and submit your own efforts.
Enjoy!
Great camera and lens, Cynthia. I agree with GR – the dpreview site is a super place…lots of opinions and ideas. I took two online digital photography classes thru SSCC and learned a lot there also. I think they were about $89 each and they release 2 classes a week (12 total) … great feedback and fun… Enjoy the camera…I’m taking my Canon 30-D out to look for eagles!! Envying your lens…again, super pics..thanks for sharing.
Great photos! Looks as if he was staring right into your camera. Thank you for sharing!
Eilene
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