1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 40D, 500 f\/4, not baited, set up or called in (though the fish were killed by refuge personnel)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThis is an older image of an adult Bald Eagle coming in for a landing near the shore of a pond at Farmington Bay.\u00a0\u00a0 Just out of frame to the right are several other adult and juvenile eagles feeding on\u00a0carp.\u00a0 This bird wants its share of the bounty\u00a0and is very willing to pay the price.\u00a0 Immediately after the eagle landed there was much aggressive posturing and several fights broke out though there were enough fish that they didn’t last long.\u00a0 This was one of those times that I wish I’d been using my other lens (100-400mm zoom)\u00a0–\u00a0even without my teleconverter attached I was\u00a0too close for the action.<\/p>\n
I chose a Bald Eagle as my subject this morning because I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately.\u00a0 So many of our Utah birds have died of West Nile virus (WNV)\u00a0that the local refuges cancelled their annual carp kill so the surviving\u00a0birds are largely dispersed and much less cooperative for birders and photographers.\u00a0 I’m fine with that and I’m glad they made the decision they did but as the time for the eagles to\u00a0head north quickly approaches I do feel the pangs of not having spent\u00a0much time with them this winter.<\/p>\n
Hopefully by this time next year researchers will have a handle on the precise\u00a0reason why WNV has so unexpectedly caused such devastation in our wintering Bald Eagle population and next years birds will be healthy and thriving.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The concentration of a raptor on landing is nearly always intense. Throw an impending fight into the mix and that intensity becomes almost palpable.<\/p>\n
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![\"bald](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bald-eagle-0869-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n