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.
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Taking off from the field |
I spotted a second white head perched in the trees. Joy and a yelp of excitement!
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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.
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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.
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THREE? Yay! |
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Original, un-cropped image of the picture above this one. |