The Eagle has Taken Off

With the eagle photography season winding down here in the heart of the Mississippi flyway, I would be remiss not to post an entry about one of my favorite subjects, the American Bald Eagle.

If you would like to get great shots of eagles, first start with a camera with a lot of zoom. Even though eagles are pretty big, they seldom walk up to you and say cheese. So if you have a little point and shoot with a 3x (105mm) zoom, chances of getting much more than a spec aren't that good. Something in the 10x (380mm) or more range is more like it.

Next, to get great shots you have to have patience. If you run up to a perched bird it will fly off, and you will most likely miss the shot because you were in motion at the time. Find a spot where the birds like to land and make yourself as low profile as possible. There are some great places to go where the birds are used to photographers enough that a 400mm lens is enough. There are a couple tricks to staying low profile, without camping out in a blind. If you are viewing from an actual viewing platform, like the one at Winfield Missouri, staying on the lower deck rather than the upper can reap great shots as the birds fly in over the upper deck, not seeing you until after they perch. Another trick is to use a window tripod. These tripods clamp right onto your car window. I've seen countless people who see a bird and want to get a picture of it, drive up, open their door, jump out of the car, and by the time they get the camera to their eye the bird is gone. The bird that perches near roads can be pretty used to seeing cars go by, and may not even mind a stopped car, but if you open that door (and slam it) and they see the shape of a standing human, they are gone. Staying in the car with a window tripod can keep you out of the weather and get the bird in your sights long enough for a great shot.

Eagles have a lot of contrast in color, dark brown and white. If you meter your camera to the body the head can be to bright and the sky washed out. Metering to the head can make the body to dark to see the feather details. Here is a trick that can help, a polorizer filter can cut down the glare from the head while making the sky a nicer shade of blue.

Patience is a virtue so unless the friend you are thinking about taking with you has endless patience, go alone. Seriously. The best eagle shots aren't the bird just sitting, it is the bird taking off, in flight, or landing. Wait for the bird that is landing or taking off and the shot will be much more interesting. Eagles usually feed a couple times a day and rest most of the rest of the day. Arriving at sunrise can get you fantastic action shots.

Dress for cold weather. The best time to view eagles is after a long cold spell of two or more weeks. When the rivers are freezing over the eagles congregate where they can get to the fish, at the damns and behind river boats that break up the ice. Winfield Missouri was rated the best place in the Northern Hemisphere to view eagles ("National Geographic's Guide to Wildlife Watching, 100 of the Best Places in America to See Animals in their Natural Habitat") The birds migrate up and down the Mississippi river, so you don't have to go all the way to Alaska to view them.

If you have been shooting eagles long enough to graduate from perched shots to action shots, don't forget to set your shutterspeed high (or use the sports setting on your camera if you have one), to freeze the action when the bird is in flight. While you are waiting for the eagle to come by, practice shooting the seagulls. There are plenty of them frequenting the same feeding grounds.

Also, don't forget to notice where the sun is. A backlit shot is nice once in a while but the best shots are usually not backlit.

Have fun, but don't forget to give the birds a chance to rest also. Stalking them relentlessly isn't good for them and could chase them off to more remote feeding grounds where you won't get any shots of them.

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