Sunday, January 31, 2010

Bombing eagles

Fishing was great over the weekend.  On Friday while catching kokanee through the ice at Ririe Reservoir, we were visited by a pair of bald eagles looking for a meal.  Several trash fish had been caught by fishermen and left on the ice.  I was too far away for good pictures as they picked the fish off the ice.  But one kept flying over us looking for a handout.


Bald eagles are mostly scavangers while their cousin, Golden eagle, love to hunt and kill their meals.  This makes baiting balds, much easier than the goldens.  All you need is a dead fish laying on the ice to get them to come investigate you.



This eagle finally gives us a wave "good-bye" as we pick up our catch and head for home, closing another wild day in Idaho.


20 comments:

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Bill: Just amazing photos of the Eagles. I have had them fly over the lake while I fished from the boat but never this close. You got some wonderful detail in your photos.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Gorgeous pictures of both of the eagles. That picture of the golden eagle especially is fabulous. WOW!!!!

Thanks for sharing.
Betsy

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Those are absolutely the best pictures of a bald eagle in flight that I've ever seen. Just incredible.
I didn't think you could top your coyote series, but I think you may have at least tied it today.

Unknown said...

Cool idea to attract these eagles. Nice shot...Thomas

troutbirder said...

Nice post Bill. I'm a little bummed out though that I can't see your golden eagle header. This problem crops up on several other blogs I read. I guess I just have a wierd computer.

Lori Skoog said...

You caught some fabulous shots. Perfect timing and good clarity.

Suburban Girl said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love your blog...it is like Wild America here. I used to do a lot more birding when we lived in a more rural area, but now I'm blessed with my backyard finds and some that pass through. I miss the birding walks I used to take.

Sunny said...

Your pictures take my breath away. How fortunate you are to see such magnificent birds in their natural environment and how lucky we are you have a camera!
Sunny :)

Monts said...

One word Bill "PERFECTION" it cant get any better.

FAB said...

Never heard of 'chumming' before to bring Eagles into view..great shots Bill.

D said...

Bill, simply majestic! What a beautiful capture in flight... looks like he's coming at you.

Janie said...

Great photos of the bald eagle, even if they were flying around hoping for a free meal.
Beautiful header with the golden eagle.

sunnymama said...

Stunning shots of these amazing birds! :)

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Tool cool Bill, great images of those beauties! I want to see some really badly, but have to wait a bit longer, maybe later this month~

Grayquill said...

I really enjoy your posts. Just for a moment I am not stuck in suburbia. I escape to the wilds of Idaho. Thanks.

rjerdee said...

Gorgeous eagles and gorgeous shots of them! Thanks for the day brightener! Fascinating subject, birds...

Mary said...

Thanks for sharing these super photos, Bill. I love the way eagles fly with their wing tip feathers spread out like fingers. The detail of what they look like in flight shows up beautifully in your shots.

Anonymous said...

Overall, I have seen bald eagles scavenging or being the opportunists that they are. But I have seen them catch many live fish; I have seen them catch seagulls on the ocean where they cause the gulls to crash into the water; I have seen them steal sea otter pups as the mothers dove for their meals; yet overall...they do enjoy the easy meal for sure.

Rulan said...

WOW. These are awesome. I sure would love to try painting one of them. Amazing detail.

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