Eagle Photo Of The Week

Dale Matson

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My late father Milt, was known as the fisherman of Tipsico Lake. We had a plaque on the cabin wall with a skeleton holding a fishing rod sitting in a boat. The title underneath was “Stubborn Cuss”. My dad loved fishing so much that he traveled 90 miles round trip from our summer cabin to work and back. This allowed him a couple of hours of daily fishing during the spring and summer months. On weekends he would spend most of the day by the lily pads hoping to catch a lunker Bass.

By the time I hit my teen years, dad had bought a Mercury outboard and my services were thankfully no longer required as his galley slave. Sitting for long hours in a hot aluminum boat was not for me. At least the seats were made of wood!

Well, in my 70’s my dad’s genes kicked in and instead of fishing, I arrive before daybreak often to sit near a group of Coots waiting for an eagle to come swooping down and carry off one of the Coots for breakfast. It is that moment that I wait for and have my camera settings just right. Manual, 1/2000/ f9 and auto ISO with about 10 frames per second. I sit in my truck which for some reason is less distracting to the eagles than being outside my truck. The trick is to be close enough to the Coots to get close photos and video but no too close that the eagles won’t come after the Coots. Often the eagles will sit for a couple of hours and then fly away or they will not even show up.

Much of the time getting good eagle photos, like catching lunker bass, is luck entwined with superstition about what works and what doesn’t. Patience is important for both fishing and photography. There is a peaceful anticipation.

I think both dad and I have taken more than a few naps during the waiting period. Dad always needed a new fishing rod. He even wore my Garcia 300 spinning reel out while I was doing my two-year stint in the army. I am always looking for new cameras and lenses that will land the Nat. Geo photos.

Well, this week I was leaving the Madera County side of Millerton Lake and spotted this juvenile Bald Eagle sitting on a boulder looking out at the lake. This time of year, the lake level is about 50% in anticipation of Spring runoff and you can drive out along the shoreline quite a ways with a 4x4 being careful not to get stuck. I put my camera and 600mm lens out the driver side window and got this shot. This was a lunker that didn’t get away.

Ospreys At Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

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Osprey

I was looking for eagles to video and photograph today at Millerton Lake and an Osprey volunteered his modeling time so I couldn’t pass this opportunity to oblige.

Ospreys are often mistaken for Bald Eagles but they are smaller. They are also referred to as Fish Hawks but they are not a member of the Hawk or Eagle families. They are their own species and can be found throughout the world. They like fish and are excellent divers.

Eagles will often steal their prey and the Osprey’s offspring off the Osprey's nest. I believe there is at least one pair of Ospreys at Millerton and there are resident pairs on most of the reservoirs above Fresno and even a pair at Woodward Park with a nest near one of the ponds. I got some fairly close photos and video.

The Eagle Trail Out Of The Coyote Snow Park 2019

Dale Matson

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Garmin Map of our (Northern) Route

Snow is very important to Eskimos and that is why they have about 50 words to describe snow. Since I only speak English, I would say that we broke trail through more than a foot of snow that was two days old. One might expect powder but there had been a warm day after the snowfall before we got there so there was a 3” crust that made for less than ideal travel.

Here is a 2015 article I posted of the trip to the overlook of Shaver Lake and the Portal Fore-bay above it. https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2015/11/coyote-ski-2015.html

Sharon and I had hoped for fresh powder and took our skis. Mike rented snow shoes and because of the crust, had a better go of it. He is younger and broke trail for us much of the way. We went about 3 miles round trip.

I had a lightweight nylon tarp and we laid it down for a snack break after Mike packed a spot with his snowshoes. The sun broke through the trees and it was quite comfortable.

I used my Garmin Fenix 5X Plus watch for the first time on this route and discovered my oxygen blood level to be about 96% at about 7,000’. The Garmin map is a $100.00 24K (West) downloaded to my watch from Garmin “Basecamp”. The resident maps in my watch don’t provide enough detail. The trail to the north is the Eagle Trail out of Coyote. The trail to the South is out of the Tamarack Snow Park where snow machines are allowed. I created a Jpeg of the map with a screen-grab. My version of Basecamp does not allow you to print out the map download from the watch.

Mike, with good balance did not use trekking poles. I was disappointed in a pair I bought from MSR because the two lower shafts turned. This meant that the semi-circle baskets turned and I didn’t always have good purchase on the climbs. I am awaiting a follow-up response from MSR.

We were glad we didn’t bring the dogs who would not have been able to climb though the deep new snow. Maybe we will get to the overlook on our next attempt. This has been a normal Sierra Nevada snow season thus far. My fingers are crossed for the rest of the season.

The drive time from Fresno was longer than the snowshoe/ski time but it was about 2.5 hours of enjoyable exercise and companionship. I’m thankful that I can still do this.

 Shaver Lake With Beautiful Sky

 Sharon Got A Jump Start

 Mike Waving To The Camera