Who woulda thunk it? For most of my non-traveling summer, wildlife photography consists of discovering and driving down local country roads, hoping for the occasional flock of Sandhill Cranes in a marsh, Turkey Vultures cleaning up the roads, Deer in the fields, and the occasional Bald Eagle doing a little field flying.
Then a light bulb goes off and I realize that the generous offer from Cousin Carol to use her pontoon boat might produce some interesting photography. And, boy did it! Early rising lake residents may have noticed a goofball, standing on the foredeck of said floatboat hoisting a big camera lens while the boat chugs into the lake. Backwards. Going about a tenth of a knot. At sunrise. While said goofball continues spinning around 360º searching for birds.
If you know Indian Lake, you're aware of a few nearly permanent avian residents. The ubiquitous Canada Geese, a few Great Blue Herons, the many Gulls that have survived the journey from the parking lots of Benton Harbor, and the well-known family of Mute Swans who seem to enjoy living here. Very occasionally, one sees a Green Heron, or even a Double-crested Cormorant. There are Bald Eagles too, but their appearance is not guaranteed.
As I'm finding out, timing has to be just right for catching the Eagles. Early this September, I got lucky! Starting with a couple of young (first or second year) Eagles who like to go fishing at, or just after sunrise. Low light at that time of day makes photography challenging, but with a little bit of post-processing, the beauty of these birds can be brought out in their images.
The young eagles seem to have a nest on the lower West side of the lake. I believe there is also a nest on the North side. So on September 14th, a couple of the North-side adult beauties came out for their "money shots!" While I could have been in better position with the sunrise light behind me, and facing the birds when they caught their fish, it was still a productive day for "keeper" shots of mature Bald Eagles.
So here they are, along with some of those "resident" critters I mentioned earlier. I hope you enjoy the pictures in the Gallery below. Please click on images to expand. And, as always, everything is available for purchase, in any format, or any style of printing you might like.
Thanks for viewing,
Steve
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