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Friday, April 27, 2018

Bald Eagles In The Eastern Sierra Nevada



Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

Mount Tom With Mount Basin To The Left

The eagles in the eastern Sierra Nevada are not more beautiful or majestic than the eagles on our side of the Sierra at Millerton or Eastman Lakes (near Fresno and Madera respectively) but the scenery, while beautiful here is not nearly as majestic as on the east side. That makes for a different venue and viewing experience especially when you know of a nest with an eagle chick also. The chick photos were further cropped in photoshop. I have included a few landscape photos of the area to illustrate the wonderful backdrop for the photo experience.
It is amazing to me that eagles are so adaptable that they can build a nest less than a mile from Highway 395 near Bishop CA. As we approached the nest, you could still hear the traffic sounds.
 I had my Sony A7R3 and 100-400mm GM lens with the 1.4X TC (560mm) shooting in crop mode (800mm). This allows a respectable distance from the eagles and good hand-held shots since both the camera and lens have image stabilization.
As we approached the nest, an adult began flying circles around the nest tree and then departed. This happened a couple of more times and when we left, the eagle remained perched in the nest tree. We try to leave before “observing eagles” becomes “pestering eagles”. We hope to get back there again before the chicks fledge.
















One Of The Chicks (Cropped)




3 comments:

  1. Hi Dale,

    I recently read you blog on your experience on Baxter Pass. I am going to be coming down that pass coming over from Baxter Lake. I am entering the pass on May 25th. I will spend the night at Summit Meadow. Do you have any tips? I am concerned about maintaining the trail, snowpack, and river crossings. Thank you!

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  2. I'm not sure I ever found Summit Meadow as I hiked although it is marked on the map. My map shows a 'campsite' to the west of Summit Meadow. I really can't speak for Spring travel conditions since I did this hike at the end of September. You will be coming from the Rae Lakes area and I remember the trail marker there indicating that the trail was unmaintained. Maybe you are a better route finder than me but I could see no evidence of the trail after the sign for it. It should be an easy climb since you are already about 10,000' at Rae Lakes. I will look for a photo of the sign on my Rae Lakes Loop hike.

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  3. Yes, the sign is the last photo in the following article I posted on Rae Lakes.
    https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2015/02/rae-lakes-basin-in-kings-canyon.html

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