Tag Archives: Bald eagle

Bald Eagle Bathing

Eagle Bathing

This is the case of “I know it must happen but I had never seen it.”. A bald eagle is a bird and birds need to take a bath. This was the day that the guests had to wait for the guide to watch something that he had never seen but once I had explained how rare this was there was more interest on their part. I have been on this river in the summer for more than twenty summers first as a fishing guide and now wildlife viewing so to say that this is rare is an understatement.

 

 

Bald Eagle Watching Us

Bald eagle

One of the hardest parts of a good photo of a bald eagle is not finding the eagle but getting a clear photo. Although this photo is interesting it would be better without the branch in the way. This required that I back the boat away from the eagle in hopes that it would not move than travel along the shore and drift back so the branch is behind the eagle. There are enough eagles in the area that if guests want a good picture they will get one.

 

 

River Scavengers

Bald eagle

The bald eagle is a majestic bird and it is exciting to watch them dive and pick food out of the water.  But like all wildlife a free meal is a free meal and an eagle makes no excuses for being a scavenger. If an eagle can grab a leftover salmon carcass and get a free meal they are the first in line before the seagulls, crows and ravens. This bald eagle was overhead eating a salmon while we moved up the river in search of more grizzly bears.

 

Bald Eagle Spotting

Young Bald Eagle

It does not matter if we are on a grizzly bear tour, whale watching or on a trip to Trapper Rick’s on the extra day in camp guests are always looking for bald eagles.  The eagles white head is easy to spot as we run along the shore to our destination. What is hard to see is the immature eagles, which do not start getting their white feathers until their third year and do not have a full white head until their fifth. Juvenile bald eagles are a mixture of brown and white with a black beak in young birds. The adult plumage develops when they are sexually mature. Once we have reached either the grizzly bear viewing area or the location of the whales and we have stopped to view the wildlife it is much easier to find the juvenile eagles along the sore.

 

Best bald eagle

The perfect eagle picture is hard to achieve but Grizzly Bear Lodge tries to provide the perfect opportunity. First by keeping an eye out for bald eagles on the whale watching trip, grizzly bear tours and extra day at the river. Secondly when the resident eagles are still in their nest behind the lodge we will occasionally throw out a bottom fish and encourage them to come for an easy meal. Glen, one of our guides, provided another great photo.