![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bald-eagle-0202.jpg\" "\\"bald-eagle-0202")
<\/p>\nLots of action involving three raptors of two different species and there I sat with a new camera whose buttons and dials were unfamiliar to me.<\/p>\n
Talk about pressure to learn a new camera.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago in a remote area of northern Utah I was lucky to spot this adult Bald Eagle on a cliff on the ‘wrong’ (right) side of my vehicle because my view of him was mostly blocked by the roof of my pickup. I barely saw ‘him’ out of the corner of my eye so I drove further down the dirt road, turned around, and hoped he’d still be there when I returned. He was.<\/p>\n This is the same eagle I posted a photo of yesterday. The shooting angle is different because at this point I was further away from him because I thought he might spook if I got any closer. Thankfully he accepted my presence but for most of the time he sure wouldn’t cooperate by looking my way. All I could see was the back of his head but finally he turned his head so I could see his face and eye.<\/p>\n I thought he was looking at me but I was wrong. He’d spotted… incoming.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n It was a Rough-legged Hawk with mischief on its mind. The first time the hawk buzzed the eagle a few minutes earlier I missed the shot but this time I got it.<\/p>\n I like the way the hawk’s wings frame the eagle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n When I first pulled up on the adult eagle I didn’t even notice this immature Bald Eagle perched on another outcrop on the cliff to my right. Apparently the two eagles had been traveling together but they must not have been all that fond of each other’s company because they were perched about 75′ apart.<\/p>\n After photographing the eagles for a while I decided to see if I could get a better shooting angle on them by driving further down the road and a little closer to both birds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Thankfully both of them stuck and this shooting angle gave me something in the background of the younger eagle other than blue sky.<\/p>\n I didn’t know it at the time but when I took this photo the eagle had spotted ‘incoming’ too – the same Roughie was approaching from behind me. Soon after I took this photo I swung my lens around to photograph the adult again and that’s when I spotted the Roughie screaming in for an attack on the young eagle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n When I took this shot my lens was still moving so the photo is soft but I did manage to get both birds in the frame, barely. The reaction of the younger eagle to an attack was much less nonchalant than that of the adult. This eagle nearly fell off its perch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The Roughie circled around and came back so in a couple of photos I managed to get both birds in the frame. After this shot the hawk disappeared behind the small mountain in the background.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Then I turned my attention back to the adult. This is the photo I posted yesterday. The adult is looking over his shoulder because… you guessed it, he’d spotted incoming again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n It was the same Roughie making a pest of itself. Once again the more experienced adult eagle barely batted an eye.<\/p>\n The Roughie made a total of five attacks on the two eagles and I got three of them (one of them just barely) which I thought was an acceptable success rate given my unfamiliarity with my new camera.<\/p>\n Both eagles stayed on the cliffs for a long time but eventually the younger bird took off. I stayed with the adult for a while longer but he wasn’t doing much so I left him in peace to look for other birds.<\/p>\n Which I never found.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lots of action involving three raptors of two different species and there I sat with a new camera whose buttons and dials were unfamiliar to me. Talk about pressure to learn a new camera! (8 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bald-eagle-0205-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"bald-eagle-0205-ron-dudley\\"")
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