{"id":81328,"date":"2020-02-02T05:42:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T12:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=81328"},"modified":"2020-02-03T15:59:24","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T22:59:24","slug":"subadult-bald-eagle-with-unusual-head-markings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/02\/subadult-bald-eagle-with-unusual-head-markings\/","title":{"rendered":"Subadult Bald Eagle With Unusual Head Markings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plus yesterday morning I had one of my most frustrating experiences ever with any kind of wildlife. This time with a bobcat.<\/p>\n

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Yesterday we finally had some nice morning light so I went up into the mountains looking mostly for birds. Birds were slow, at least the cooperative ones were. We have pretty good numbers of wintering Bald Eagles in areas with open water nearby but none of them were close in good light.<\/p>\n

But this immature eagle’s distinctive facial markings caught my eye. Like the others this one wasn’t close (this photo is cropped to 40% of the original image). Through my lens those markings reminded me of those of an Osprey. I think this head turn showing off the hooked beak emphasizes that impression.<\/p>\n

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A huge crop of the same image (7.5% of the original) allows us to see more details of the head markings.<\/p>\n

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I wanted a better look at the bird’s belly markings but after pulling forward in my pickup perhaps 75′ this was the best view I could get and this photo isn’t quite as sharp as the previous one.<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong. There may not be anything necessarily remarkable about this bird. Markings on young Bald Eagles vary considerably, to the point that no two of them look exactly alike. I just thought the whites on this bird’s head were unusual. And even attractive.<\/p>\n

But seeing this oddly distinctive Bald Eagle wasn’t my most exciting event of the morning. Far from it.<\/p>\n

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Later that morning I came closer to a bobcat than I’ve ever been. Much closer.<\/p>\n

So close that with my teleconverter attached to my 500mm lens I wouldn’t have been able to fit “him” in the frame. At least not comfortably. He was sitting on top of a rock and not moving so I had a completely unobstructed view of him. And I had three DSLR cameras attached to lenses of assorted focal lengths within arm’s reach so I had my choice of camera\/lens combinations.<\/p>\n

OK Bub, so why no photos?<\/p>\n

Wouldn’t you know it, I was driving 75 mph westbound down Parley’s Canyon on I-80 somewhere between Lamb’s Canyon and Mountain Dell when we spotted him on the rock in the median between the eastbound and westbound freeway lanes. I was in the fast lane (or the one next to it, can’t remember) so we were very close. Even so I was driving so I only had a brief glimpse of him.<\/p>\n

Looking back on it I can’t believe the bobcat wasn’t already road kill. To be where he was that cat had to have already crossed all of the eastbound lanes and anyone who’s ever been on I-80 around midday (it was about 11:30) on a sunny Saturday knows how heavy the traffic was. And how fast, with lots of big trucks.<\/p>\n

But he still had the eastbound lanes to cross before he’d be safe and if I know cats he’d have attempted to dart like a maniac across the freeway which would likely panic some drivers driving 75-80 mph downhill – a recipe for disaster for both humans and that particular bobcat.<\/p>\n

So far I haven’t heard about any serious accidents in Parley’s Canyon yesterday or about any road killed bobcats so perhaps he somehow made it safely across. He had no other choice but to try.<\/p>\n

I certainly hope he made it. That’s my biggest concern. But how very frustrating for two wildlife photographers to be that close to a stationary bobcat out in the open with at least five DSLR’s and assorted lenses between us and not be able to get any photos.<\/p>\n

The moaning and groaning inside the cab of my pickup was truly pitiful.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n