The Sunnyside Garden Club On The Millerton Lake Eagle Boat Tour

Dale Matson

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Mature Bald Eagle

Sharon Matson enlisted a group of Sunnyside Garden Club Members to go on the Millerton Lake Boat tour as a charter group. For the particulars of the Eagle boat tour see my posting from last year. http://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2017/02/millerton-lake-bald-eagle-tours.html

We had an orientation video on eagles at Millerton Lake at the historic Millerton Courthouse and then regrouped at the boat ramp for our pontoon boat ride to various locations around the lake as our expert docent Mike Smith located eagles with his binoculars. There were additional binoculars leant to tour participants that made viewing the eagles a much more meaningful experience.

Even though the morning began a bit foggy and cold, the day soon became sunny and comfortable with a layer of clothing or two removed.

Mike answered questions from the group as we went along and gave signals to officer Addison our pilot, which direction to head for the next possible eagle sighting. Two of the existing nests have been abandoned and two new nests are under construction a short distance (as the eagle flies) from the old nests.

Most of the eagles at Millerton have migrated from Great Slave Lake in Canada with only a few resident mating pairs of eagles. This trip Mike located a pair of Golden Eagles which was my first sighting at Millerton.

We had a comfort stop at a floating restroom and hot chocolate and treats too. The experience began about 8am and ended about 1pm. By my GPS, we traveled about 20 miles on the lake. After the trip, the ladies stopped in Friant for lunch before heading home. Thanks for letting me come along Sharon!

I had my Sony A7R3 with the 100-400 GM telephoto lens for photos of the birds. Most of the photos are cropped. My people photos and some landscape shots were with the Sony A600 and the 16-70 f4 SZ lens.  

 Juvenile Bald Eagle

 Gathering 

 Video Presentation

 Mike Pointing Out A Feature

 The Sunnyside Ladies

 Officer Addison

 Taking On More Fuel

 Finegold Creek

 Lava Dome

 Turn Around At Finegold Creek

 Our First Eagle Sighting (Juvenile)

 Another Juvenile Eagle

Distant Golden Eagle

 Stealth Bald Eagle

 1st New Nest

 2nd New Nest

 1st Old Nest

2nd Old Nest

Hawks

Dale Matson

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To use an antiquated phrase (and pun), eagles “Are scarce as hen’s teeth. “There are few eagles to photograph and they are limited in the areas they appear near me. However, while eagles are hard to find, hawks in general are ubiquitous and Red-Tailed Hawks in particular are the most common around here.

All one has to do is look up. They can even be seen in the tops of tall Redwood Trees in my neighborhood. They are common in the foothills and around the shores of local reservoirs. You can see them on fence posts, on top of utility poles and windmills. They seem to fit in seamlessly with modern civilization.

Unlike eagles, they spend lots of time in the air soaring and looking for squirrels, rabbits, mice, snakes and other ground creatures. I never tire of watching them soar as individuals or in pairs. During mating season, you can see the male flying with his legs down in a choreographed aerial dance.

When I ran trails, hawks used to follow me looking for mice I might scare up for them to capture and eat. They kill their prey using their sharp talons and beak, while Falcons use sheer speed and impact.

I had and lost a photo of the smaller Coopers Hawk and do have a photo of the smaller Red Shouldered Hawk.

If there is any doubt in your mind what bird is overhead, it becomes immediately obvious when the sun reflects off the underside of the wings. The pattern is a thing of beauty and their movements and acrobatics are a joy to watch.

In winter the hawk nests are obvious but when the eggs are laid and as Spring emerges, the leaves develop on the branches and hide both the nests and the developing chicks housed therein.

If you drive down a rural highway through the rolling foothills, the hawks seemed evenly spaced along the way which demonstrates a rather small territory compared to eagles.

Hawks are sometimes bold enough to sit on an overhead branch as you pass under it. I have a photograph of a hawk less than 30’ overhead. Thanks for your patience hawk!

While birds in flight (BIF) are the most beautiful photos of birds, they are also the most difficult to take. These photos were taken with the Sony A7R2 and adapted Canon 400 f4 D.O. and more recently with the A7R3 and Sony 100-400 GM. Sorry about the dust spots on my sensor which showed up in some of the photos.

 Courting Ritual

 Red Shouldered Hawk

 Patient Overhead Photo

Looking For Eagles: Still Learning

Dale Matson

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This year seems to be the year of the juvenile Bald Eagles. This is my second year that I have sought to photograph them in earnest and tried to be methodical about it. I think much of my methods are based on my experience that wildlife in general and eagles in particular are creatures of habit.

I became intentional about seeking out wildlife a few years ago trying to photograph the elusive and endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep. What a challenge compared to landscape photography. In fact, it is almost different in kind as a type of photography. It is certainly more challenging. I actually began with a point and shoot zoom lens camera. My first lesson was, “Go big or go home”. The lenses for wildlife are usually much larger (400mm-800mm) than landscape and not easy to carry into the mountains. When backpacking, the lens usually weighs more than my tent and sleeping bag combined. The camera settings are also more sophisticated. Adequate light is more critical. Mountains are in a specific location and wildlife at best is in a general area. And that is when you know about the ‘general area’. Navigating the terrain can be difficult also. Wildlife rarely pose either and are constantly on the move trying to put trees and shrubbery between themselves and you. It is frustrating for me when the closer I get the more things seem to get in the way. Eagles and sheep standing on large boulders really helps me to get the full animal in the viewfinder.

For bighorn sheep, binoculars and a spotting scope are useful. The distance usually also requires a tripod for sharp photos assuming the air is clear enough. Flat light and an overcast sky makes the photo difficult and generally inferior. The closer you can get, the better the photo, period.

Knowing the area is very important and time of day is important. What does an area normally look like? Is there a new trail, a new ‘bump’ on the landscape? Is there a different color? Fresh tracks? Adult Bald Eagles have a white head that shows up rather well. Immature eagles will land further down in a tree than adults. I don’t know if this is a hierarchy thing or to blend in with the branches. Mornings seem to be the time the raptors are most active.

Photography is more than walking down a trail. In fact, with sheep, this is a rather futile and arduous effort. It is better to find a good vantage point and scan with binoculars. The CDFW has an advantage and head start over civilians with animals. Select herd members are fitted with GPS and radios collars.

Yesterday I drove out to a seasonal peninsula of Millerton Lake and parked. I scanned using my 10X50 binoculars along the road that leads to the Blue Oak Trail. I also was able to see several spots along the trail. I did spot a large bird along the road and made a mental note of the location. I was ready to photograph as I approached the area and got some nice close shots from my truck. I sometimes use the camera lens itself but this uses battery life. I was also able to establish where the birds were not. This saved traveling to the location. Photographing an animal/bird can also lead to discovering additional animals that you didn’t see when taking the photograph. Yesterday, I spotted and photographed a distant eagle in the top of an Oak tree. Much to my surprise, there were two additional eagles in the tree below that eagle when I enlarged the image in my viewfinder.

There is a spot on the Madera side of the lake where I have seen an eagle more than once. The closer I got, the more obscured the bird became with branches. Yesterday the bird was not there and I investigated a couple of alternate routes to the tree that would keep me concealed as I approached a keep me high enough to get a clear photo at a good distance. Every time is a learning experience.  

 3 Eagles

 Two Distant Adult Bald Eagles