Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Eagles at Dawn

I left the house early this morning and drove to Prairie du Sac, which is along the Wisconsin River. At this time of the year most of the waterways in the state have frozen over. Scores of Bald Eagles gather at places like this town, where dam spillways have created open water. The birds gather here to feed on fish in the mornings.

I expected to see a few birds and was really surprised at just how many I actually saw! There were well over twenty raptors at one viewing spot alone! The majority of birds were very far, so my 70-200mm, even with a 1/4x extender, was not the best lens. Oh to have an extra $13K for a 600mm lens! I can't even imagine...

Bald EagleBald EagleCommon Merganser, female

I'm also going to try and learn more about The Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, the organization that monitors the birds. I'd bet there are some interesting folks involved.