The Elusive Eagles

Dale Matson

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Mature Bald Eagle Pair

After years of looking for, watching, and photographing the mighty eagles, I have come to see them as having special powers. The eagle is like the Romulan Starships from the Star Trek series. The “Warbirds” have a mechanism called a cloaking device which makes them become invisible and disappear.

The eagle too seems to have this ability. One minute the eagle is perched on a boulder near the water and what seems like only a couple of seconds later the eagle is nowhere to be seen. I curse myself for being so lax but is it really the fault of an elderly attention span and poor eyes? Of course not. The eagle is able to remain there cloaked and invisible. If a coot could talk, the coot’s last words would be, “Where did that eagle come from?”.

In the sky, while flying, eagles remain visible for a while, although unlike hawks, they don’t often hover almost motionless overhead. They have the ability to remain in the same location and simply circle higher and higher until they are no longer visible even with binoculars. They can circle with the sun overhead, making it impossible to see them either. When eagles fly below tree line, they blend in so well that it is nearly impossible to follow them with your eyes.

Eagles are Willow-the-Wisps and “Shape Shifters” too. When the eagle is flying amongst the trees, I wait for them to come out and pride myself for photographing them as they come out on the other side of the clump of trees, only to find out that I have lots of photos of a Red-Tailed Hawk.

They disguise themselves by blending in with other raptors in what is known as a “Kettle”. How many times have I missed taking a photo of a golden eagle because it was flying with a group of raptors, disguised as a hawk, turkey vulture or raven.

Eagles have another trick up the sleeves of their wings. They often sit with their backs to their prospective prey and only occasionally turn their heads in the direction they actually intend to go. They seem disinterested and aloof but they are very interested. A perched eagle almost always seems to fly away from the human observer instead of toward the camera. Most of my photos have been deleted because they are taken from the rear of the rear end of the bird.

Most often we think of eagles as locating themselves in the tops of trees and that is where we look for them. However, often they are below the treetops hidden in the foliage. We learn this when an eagle lands on a branch only to expose the presence of another eagle that was already there, invisible to the binoculars.

So much of the world of the eagle is based on the eagle’s vision. With a good perch, an eagle can see over a mile in any direction. The coots huddled together 100 meters from me are being observed by several eagles, each a mile distant in one direction or another.

I recently was watching an eagle catch a fish. The moment he caught it, two mature eagles and one juvenile eagle began to pursue the first eagle. Where in the world did they all come from? I had recently ‘swept and cleared’ the surrounding area of any other eagles with my 10 power binoculars.

Sometimes, every so often the eagles allow me a photo session and simply remain perched offering several poses. Eventually I leave or they leave, perhaps thinking, “He has enough photos for today.”

Eagle Above Nest       

Eagles Hunting At Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

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Eagle Looking Over The Coots

Eagles are opportunists about food and will eat carrion, steal from Ospreys and even each other. Make no mistake about it however, they are skilled hunters also. They will watch Coots from the top of a dead tree a half mile away until they decide to make their move.

 I was in a good place this morning at the bottom of one of the Millerton Lake boat ramps. Within sight of the historic courthouse. Boat ramps are good places to use binoculars to scan the shoreline and sky. There were also several Coots clustered together just beyond me in the cool water. Coots are slow and awkward which makes them ‘sitting ducks’ for eagles, so to speak. Additionally, Coots are small and light which means the eagles can fly to a good spot to consume their prey.

It was not a good day for photographs because it was early, overcast and raining. Telephoto lenses need light for quality photos. However, this is something one expects and accepts as eagles seem to be more active in these circumstances and they call the shots if you want the photos.

Today I was able to observe and photograph the hunt by a juvenile eagle from start to finish. As I watched there was both an air of excitement and one of sadness to watch these birds in their death dance above the Coots. For the eagle to live, another animal must die. You know that one of the Coots will soon be dead. It is really no contest and no escape for the selected Coot. The eagle’s talons can both crush and puncture (bleed out) the Coot as the eagle lifts it out of the water.

There was quite a bit of initial circling above the Coots and the eagle flew back to a sand bar to rest and or reconsider the options. The eagle then flew to another small cluster of Coots and snatched one from the water as it flew overhead. The eagle then landed back near me where it had initially rested and began to pluck the feathers of the Coot.

Before the meal could be finished another juvenile eagle spotted the action and decided to make a nuisance of himself as he flew overhead. That was all the other eagle could stand and the eagle flew off to parts unknown (by me) to finish what was started

My photographs are not the best but do a fair job of illustrating this story. I used a Sony A7R3 with the 100-400 GM lens plus a 1.4 Teleconverter (560mm). The difficulty is getting enough light yet using high shutter speed for the BIF.

Above Is A Two Photo Sequence Of A Juvenile Eagle Catching A Fish

   

  

Eastman Lake “Lake Trail”

Dale Matson

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My Route

Eastman Lake is a 150,000-acre foot reservoir in Madera County. The particulars can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Lake

The Lake trail is about four miles in length and amounts to about an eight mile out and back. It can be hiked from the Southern trailhead near the Raymond Bridge over the Chowchilla River on County Highway 613 out of Raymond. There is a bathroom at the parking area. The northern trailhead is located in the group camping area at Eastman Lake. Inquire at the Ranger Station for directions to this trailhead.

         This was my first time to hike a portion of the trail. I was looking for an eagle’s nest between the trail and the river. I was told the nest was about a mile out from the trailhead at the Raymond Bridge. There is a nice bench to sit and rest on before you get to the part of the trail where you can view the nest.  I walked about a mile and a half and was unable to spot the nest. I headed back to my truck and ran into a group of three hikers near where the trail begins. I asked if any of them knew where the nest was and the older of the two men said that he had been there before.

         Well, I was on the trail and had my camera so there was no point in my leaving now so I asked if I could travel with them. It was fine with Sandy, her son Bill and Bill’s uncle our designated docent.

There are “rollers” and by this time I was getting a bit tired and lacked water. After about a mile and a quarter, Bill’s uncle pointed to a “Bull Pine” (Yellow Pine) on the trail side of the river bank. We had to walk further to see the nest clearly. You could make out the head of a Bald Eagle in the nest with binoculars or my telephoto lens. The other eagle did not make an appearance nor did the eagle in the nest fly out of it while I was there. I left before they did because I was anxious to get back to my truck and apologetically asked for a drink of water (It got up to the mid 70’s Monday). Our docent said, “I have three bottles with me, take one.” This was a true trail angel.

         I was glad to make it back to my truck and headed back to Fresno via Raymond and Coarsegold. I hope some folks reading this will take this hike for the nice scenery alone. There are also Red-Tailed Hawks along the way. If you do locate the nest please respect the birds by staying near the trail. My photographs were taken with a Sony A7R3 and the Sony 100-400 GM with a 1.4X TC.

 Coot (AKA eagle food)

Crop Of Nest Photo

 Sandy and Bill