Eagle Visitors in January

As Bob expressed his love and gratitude for the sausage and egg breakfast this morning with a warm hug, I spotted over his shoulder an object with a white tail flying over our field.  "Hey, our leucistic Northern Harrier has returned!", I said.  I was wrong.
After running to grab the camera and stumbling out on the porch I realized it was an EAGLE and he had landed in our field.  'NO CARD' was flashing in the viewfinder and I really needed the bigger lens anyway, so I ran back in to change the lens and grab a card.  Isn't that the way it always happens?  Another trip out and I found I could use the binoculars too because the eagle was still down in the field somewhere and I couldn't spot him through my camera lens.  Another sprint inside and back out again.  Finally, he started to rise and, now with the proper viewing / photography gear, I realized I had multiple subjects.

Taking off from the field

I spotted a second white head perched in the trees.  Joy and a yelp of excitement!

As I tried to follow him with the camera, I accidentally captured this image and realized there was a second Eagle!

After a couple of deep breaths, I realized my subjects were staying awhile and with the temperatures hovering near low 30's I was freezing - no coat and only my slippers to keep my toes warm.  My husband quickly fetched my coat and gloves when he saw I would rather freeze than miss a second of this special event.  34 pictures later and I'm giddy with excitement.

Original, un-cropped image of the 2 pictures above this one.

  

Wait, what is that third large bird flying over and around them and what are those strange sounds they're making?  No way!  A THIRD eagle?  HERE?  Snap, snap, snap - deep breath - quit jabbing the camera button and 'squeeze' the button. 

THREE?  Yay!

Original, un-cropped image of the picture above this one.