Mid Sierra Musings: Resident Eagles Millerton Lake

Resident Eagles Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

I’m getting the itch to photograph eagles at Millerton Lake again now that the hiking and backpacking season is drawing to a close. In spite of the fact that we had a month of smoke from fires this summer, it was a great season for wilderness photos and new locations that included the Sierra Glaciers near Big Pine CA.

There are what I would call two “hot spots” at Millerton where I can generally find a bald eagle or two on the Fresno County Side of Millerton near the Courthouse. I guess you could call them the “legal eagles”. There is another resident pair of bald eagles that hang out further upstream.

The other hot spot is not a ‘drive by’, but a long hike and steep climb to find the golden eagles soaring and stooping along the cliffs on the Madera side of Millerton Lake. They are creatures of habit and daily show up about the same time from their roost site elsewhere when the thermals are optimal for soaring. They are shyer than the bald eagles and it is rare to get a photo when they are perched. Additionally, they like to soar among the trees along the cliff as they hunt for prey which makes it difficult for photos or video.

As usual, eagles see me before I see them and they may or may not appear as it strikes their fancy. Eagles are the monarchs of the sky and as I watch them soar, I envy their grace, beauty and mastery of flying.

The seasonal visitors to Millerton Lake from Great Slave Lake in Canada are probably getting ready to make their annual trip to Millerton and should arrive sometime in December depending on the weather conditions in Canada. When they arrive, eagles can be sighted in several locations along the lake. In a way I am somewhat migratory also since I don’t look for eagles much in Summer at Millerton Lake and spend much of my time in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

God willing, I will be back on the eastern side of the Sierra in early Spring looking for Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep to photograph before they move back to the western side of the Sierra crest.

All of these photos were taken in a single day at Millerton and represent about 5 hours of effort in two locations.