Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Bald Eagles

It has been very cold here, minus 20 degrees F two nights ago.  Today was overcast with light snow, so it warmed up to about plus 10 degrees F.  Much more comfortable, but the little bit of light was completely flat.
I discovered four bald eagles near Ovid, Idaho with a small kill.
Two left as soon as I stopped my truck, but the other two took turns pushing each other off the kill.
The eagle on the ground defended itself from the aerial attack, but would usually be pushed away.
There didn't seem to be any hard feelings.  The eagle that had been pushed off the kill would wait awhile then try again.  Meanwhile, the magpies all waited for leftovers.

These photos were taken with an ancient Sigma 170-500 lens from the cab of my truck.  The heavy lens was hand held, braced on a Puffin Pad, which is a soft base that hooks onto the truck window.  The old lens lacks contrast in conditions as dark and flat as these, so some adjustments were made in Photoshop Elements.

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