Bald Eagle Sighting

I stopped on my way home from work last Friday evening to spend some time at a still and quiet lake.  Nothing was stirring and after a while, just as I turned to leave, something caught my eye from across the lake--a sudden flapping of large wings and flashes of bright white.  It was a Bald Eagle!  I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped away, only to realize that in my excitement I had forgotten to change the setting from portraits I had taken earlier in the day.  By the time I finally got my act together, it circled and flew out of sight.  I share the following images anyway, even at their poor quality, just to give you a fuzzy glimpse of the eagle.

The number of bald eagles are increasing in this part of the region,

so sightings are becoming a bit more common. 

Not knowing if this bird was visiting a nest or migrating (do they actually migrate??)

I thought I'd return Saturday morning with hopes that the eagle might also return. 

I arrived just before dawn when birds are active, and set up.

                                                                No eagles flew by.... 
                                               However, once the sun broke the horizon,
                              I couldn't see anything in front of me anyway, even if one did fly by!!

So I turned around instead, and was surprised, first, by the

rich russet color from the morning sun shining on the trees across the road.

Then I was blown away by the sound of constant chirping and songs of many birds

that were sitting on sunlit branches or flitting from tree to tree. 

Realizing I've already taken pictures of many of these birds,

I thought I'd try capturing some of them in flight (some of them look like angels!) for

something a little different,

after catching a few 'stills' like this pair of Northern Flickers and American Robin.

After freezing for over two hours, I decided to leave (and return later again that day--the same time as the night before--just for the slight chance of perhaps seeing that eagle).  I took one more glance behind me to where I had myself set up, and liked how the scene looked with the bright sky contrasting the still-darkened ground, with the reddish color still 'behind' where I was.

I returned later that evening as planned, but no wildlife was visible.

I did come away with some information, though-- 

A car crunched down the gravel path and three occupants got out to get a closer look at the lake. 

One man asked what I was photographing, and when I shared my eagle story, he told me

about a bald eagle festival that's held every January that I might find interesting.

I so much enjoy the sharing that takes place among like-minded folks!

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