Maybe backyard is being a little generous with this one.
Would be cool if the Mississippi River was in my backyard… should I move to Red Wing and put it in my backyard? Probably not… but maybe??
Anyway, I took a trip to the banks of said Mighty Mississippi in Red Wing, Minnesota this weekend for a bit of a new challenge. I needed all the focusing and distance help I could get today, so today’s lens is the Sony 200-600 G, and today’s camera is the very-capable a6700.
Today we’re looking for Bald Eagles.
You know they’re a big bird, because eagle, but looking at one atop a tree or soaring high in the sky doesn’t really give a scale of just how massive these birds really are.
They’re huge. Like, 6.5′ wingspan huge. Like, that carp is as long as my arm, huge.
Photographing these birds offers a fun challenge for a few reasons:
- They are smart.
- They see something like 9x better than we humans do.
- They hear at least as well as we do.
- They are exceptional at being sneaky.
- They are fast AF.
So, you go out there stomping your way to a good vantage point, maybe sitting on a bench waiting patiently, maybe watching closely while holding up your heavy telephoto lens as the Eagle sits in the tree. You’re far enough away that if it were a person watching you, you wouldn’t notice, and animals you’ve interacted with in the past wouldn’t take notice either.
The Eagle saw you coming, heard your footsteps, and has already formulated a plan to deal with you.
So it waits, staring at you.
Your arm begins to tire. You think, hey it’ll probably take off soon and I’ll get a great shot of full wings, the lighting is perfect. Just wait.
The Eagle stares and doesn’t move.
Eventually your arm starts to cramp up. It’s 10 degrees outside. You’re getting cold and tired. How long will it just stare at me? I already got the sitting pensive shot. I want to see those WINGS! Maybe if I can get the lens back up pretty fast, I’ll just wait it out and watch with my eyes…
So you start to put the lens down. At that moment, the Eagle is already taking off and flying away. Also, it’s way tricky to nail focus, framing, and tracking when you’re surprised like that.
This happened again, and again, and again:
Once I got the hang of this game, I fought back with some sneaking of my own, and managed a few good ones:
BONUS EDITION FROM THE NEXT DAY IN ELK RIVER, MN:
Nesting! This pair is at a designated MN DNR eagle nesting site at the Bailey Point Nature Preserve. There is a lovely bench set up at a viewing location to sit and watch them as they work on the nest and on keeping the eggs warm.
Christian McCall 