From the back yard

 How appropriate that this flew over the neighborhood today...this is just a tiny cropped portion of the pic and I have fiddled with it trying to make it clear.  It was so high up, and in front of clouds a big lot of the time.  I did not think I was ever going to get it half focused.  And it was not so much the focus that made it blurred, it was me shaking.

From January 2023...

As far as I can tell, unless I have forgotten to label it, I have not shared this photo before.

Beside the road

 This Bald Eagle was right beside a two-lane highway.  As we approached, it flew a few yards into the field.  Thankfully, there was no traffic...I stopped in the middle of the road and shot past Roger to get a couple snaps.  Even though I seen no traffic anywhere near, I was afraid to try to get out to take any photos.  BTW, it was the third eagle of the day. 

From the highway

 Coming north from Terre Haute, I spotted this Bald Eagle over across the highway.  I had to do a double take to see that it was an eagle.  I went up to the next left turn lane and came back down the highway and pulled off to the side to get this photo.  It is a cropped version of the picture I took.  With my little point and shoot I was having a hard time seeing what I was getting.

Bald Eagle in nest

I cannot believe it, but this is the 4th Bald Eagle nest that I know of.  I cannot get a good view of two of them...one is a lot closer to the road than this one, but even if something is on it, it would have to be sitting on the edge towards the road or I would never see.

Bald Eagle

What a beauty...first he was in one tree across the creek.  It was hard to get a shot through the bushes on my side.  He took off and was close enough I could hear the swoosh of his wings.

He flew down the creek just a short ways and lit in another tree.

In flight....

There were four of them,

When I first saw them, one took off to parts un-known and three headed over the road I was on, but on down the way.

Just as I got down there, the adult with the white tail feathers and white head took off and went south.

All I had was my little point and shoot that does not have a view finder...so very lucky to get these.

A pair

As we were coming home from Paris, Illinois Friday, we spotted this pair of Bald Eagles in a tree maybe a hundred yards off the road.  The tree was in fence line between two farm fields.

From the strip pits, from the yard

We were out at the strip pits late the other evening...I captured a few of the geese.

This is also from the same evening....it was not as dark as this looks...this is just how it turned out...

And this one is from the back yard yesterday afternoon.  We were raking a few leaves.  I always keep an eye on the sky when out in the hopes of seeing something interesting.   Normally it is vultures I see, but there was no mistaking this for a vulture.

Peek-a-boo and friend....

Do you see it....you might want to click to expand the view.

We were quite a ways away from them so I really had to zoom in.

This one and the next two photos are of the one on the left that you can see easier.

Note that its tail feathers are white all the way to the tip.

Now the one below is the one that is in the first picture...we just drove around to the other side of the creek so I could get a good view of it...

if you will expand the view you will see some color on the very tips of its tail feathers.  For some reason, the photos of this bird was even worse than the others.  So I am only showing this one photo of it.

A Great Day

First of all, let me apologize for the quality of these first shots...but any day we see an eagle, we consider it a great day!

I had my camera on a monopod but I still could not hold steady with it zoomed in as much as it was.

You can still see that it is a juvenile Bald Eagle.

Look at that big dark, hooked beak.  It was sitting in the same tree as the Bald Eagle seen here.  It had been raining again today, but more a light rain rather than the downpour the other eagle had been in.  If you didn't see it, be sure and look.  I have never seen an eagle look as dejected as it did.

***********

In addition to the Bald Eagle, I lost count of the hawks we saw.  Oh not a huge number but somewhere around 6 or 7 or 8.  Most I could not stop to take photos, but the last one, I got several shots.

I don't know what kind of hawk this is...

He cooperated for just a few shots..

I know this and the first shot look like the same shot, but they aren't.

He almost took off in the above shot..,but composed himself for the photo below

I do consider this my favorite shot...

I managed the one shot, another truck passed and he was off...and he was 'screaming' at me as he left.  I wish I had thought to video it as he left.

Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

Photo shoot of a wet, wet Bald Eagle

On the way home today from Paris, Illinois, we spotted this eagle in this old dead tree out in a pasture...right on the outskirts of town. At first I thought it was a vulture, then I thought, NO!  I seen a white head.  Lucky for me there was a place to pull off the road good.

He (or she??) was a good ways away...I originally thought the length of a football field but now I am not so sure.

It had poured the rain on the way over there....he looks like he was out in it all.

We sat and watched him quite a while...

Doesn't he look sort of sad here?

It never did fly, but we thought we might as well leave and let it relax....

These were all taken with my little Point&shoot camera, and I just could not hold steady, even had trouble when I put it on the monopod...

I spy in the sky...

As we were heading out of town, I spied this guy/gal in the sky.  I quick found an empty lot to park on, and stopped the car, got out and propped my hands on the open door to try to zoom in and snag a couple shots.

The first shot is cropped,  the second uncropped.  Any day we see a Bald Eagle is a good day!

I am going to try linking to I'd Rather B Birding with this...hopefully I will get to visit a few of the blogs.  Sometimes time slips away and it takes me days to get visiting done.

Eagle...

We saw this eagle not a mile from here...I was trembling with excitement.  Just could not believe we were seeing it where we seen it.

 I took a dozen pictures or more, none were very good but at least you can see it...

Any day we see an eagle is a good day!

Already slacking on the job...

I cannot believe I done skipped a day posting...maybe this is going to be the new me...skipping days all the time.

Anyway, how about this fellow/gal?

We went for a little drive Sunday--just checking out the fishing spots.  At the tailwaters of the dam, Roger asked if I wanted to drive on back...I said it doesn't matter.

He said well, we never know what we will see, and he had not driven 20 or 30 feet when he spotted this eagle.  I got out of the Rav and started walking back.  The eagle just sat.  I don't think I ever got to where there was  no little limbs in front of him.  But they aren't too bad in these.  He finally took off and flew down the creek and lit on the other side.

I took this one across the creek...he had not gone very far.  He did not set there as long this time, but flew back up the creek and lit in another tree on the other side.  It is/was just thrilling to think we did not scare him so bad that he took off for good.

All three of these photos are cropped and grainy, but still thrilled to get them.  It was so dark and cloudy, I had my ISO set at 1600....plus I have fiddled with these in Picasa. 

A juvenile....

We were headed north to Veedersburg...taking the long way there by going up 63, then cutting across at Cayuga.  I spotted his mom and pop and had Roger pull over...that is when he noticed this third.  I will have the mom and pop over at Pics & Pieces...the juvenile looked even bigger than the mom and dad....at least I assume they were the mom and dad.  S/he seemed bigger than either of them....I think if I looked out my door and seem them every day of my life that I would still be thrilled to see them.

The mamas and the papas...and youngsters

Though this is not a very good picture, I have to show it to prove to you there were 4 eagles!!! Click it to make it bigger...you can easily see the two adults with their white heads...and the youngster that is farthest away is close to the adult and fairly easily seen. The youngster that is closer to us in the photo, is over my copyright.
All four flew up and headed towards the river however this one circled back to fly over the farmland surrounding us. It is the same eagle in both pictures.
I was so hoping to see an eagle today, but usually the days I start out hoping to see one, I don't. And I did not in my wildest dreams think I would see more than one. In my younger years, I never would have expected to see an eagle any place other than the zoo!

Needless to say, seeing these made our day.