Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Description:

The adult Bald Eagle is mainly brown- to blackish, with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown, it will remain that way for about 5 years. Bald Eagles are not actually bald, the name is derived from the older meaning of the word, "white headed".

Habitat:

Most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. They will migrate to find open water in their northern most territories, with many birds from Canada, flying south as needed in able to fish continually during the winter, when lakes tend to freeze over solid.

Notes:

This sighting was made while we were fishing for dinner. We managed to catch a few fish, and so did this bald Eagle. Many times in the past I have been fishing and have witnessed an eagle take a fish much bigger then anything I was catching.This day it managed to catch a perch smaller then those I was catching. I did get the biggest catch of the day and it was not a fish, it was these captures of this awesome Bald Eagle.

Species ID Suggestions

62 Comments (1–25)

Jim Nelson 9 years ago

I spend a lot of time trying to capture birds in flight, but it takes a lot of practice to get a good one. I want to "pile on" with everyone else, and say you nailed this one...Good Job!

M.A. Orendan 9 years ago

Amazing photos!!

williefromwi 11 years ago

A very very very belated Thank you pennymomof2, I used to see when people made a comment on my posts, but sadly they took that ability away from us several months ago. I would have responded sooner had I known.

pennymomof2 11 years ago

Beautiful shots!

williefromwi 11 years ago

Thanks Azura, Andrew and Gayle. Gayle, if you read this comment and wish to email me, I would gladly share some camera settings and tips with you on how to go about capturing birds in flight. Eagles because of their size are not nearly as hard to capture in flight as smaller birds. My email address is on my profile page. Just send me an email and let me know your interested in some camera settings and tips on eagle flight shots.

Azura Firdaus W 11 years ago

wow

andrew.pitek 11 years ago

By far, the greatest set of photographs I have ever seen! WELL DONE!

GayleAndersonAshbach 11 years ago

I have worked at making photos of this magnificent bird for several years. They are so very swift that it is difficult to make a perfect shot. Great job!

williefromwi 11 years ago

Frank I believe this series was shot using a 70-300mm lens. I would have to double check to verify that. I am using a Nikon camera, set at continuous focus. I am spot focusing on the bird as well. If you wish to email, I would be happy to supply my camera settings if I do not have to dig to long to find them. I would love to own a 500mm lens, I can only imagine what my photos would be like if I had something that large. Anyway, my email address is williefromwi@hotmail.com. Email me if you wish.

FrankPortillo 11 years ago

I use a 500mm lens but am only able to capture a few good in-flight photos. Do you use the manual focus or automatic?

williefromwi 11 years ago

Thanks OnengDyah, and thank you so much FrankPortillo. Frank, I love wildlife, and birds are one of my favorite subjects. Capturing a bird in flight, is icing on the cake for me. I am thrilled you and so many others enjoy my efforts to capture the beauty I see in creation.