Kathryn Palumbo

To get close to nature, all I have to do is open my door. Racoons climb through trees and hedges in my yard, coyotes roam the streets and on many occasion I have heard them teaching their young how to hunt at night. We can hear owl’s call and woodpecker’s at work. A pair of Bald Eagles nest near us. I have read that it is common for Eagles to use the same nest for many years. One day while running around the track a Bald Eagle flew overhead. A couple laps around the track later, the Eagle returned along the same flight path carrying an impossibly large branch securely gripped in his talons. I was amazed to see the Eagle land in a not too distant tree, presumably adding this branch to a nest.

The photographs I am sharing today are from a pair of Bald Eagles that rest on a high branch in a neighbours yard. With a Nikkor 18-200mm lens mounted on my Nikon D7000, I was able to catch these majestic birds of prey. I get a little advance warning from them on the days they are flying overhead. When the first eagle lands, (I think the female, because she is larger), she calls out to her mate to join her; at least that is my impression. When I hear her calling, I race outside with my camera.

Of course, it drives me crazy because with this lens I am unable zoom any closer to the subject. I have cropped these photographs in Aperture and realize that there is a loss of resolution in doing so, but I am working towards getting myself a telephoto lens before this pair moves on.

I hope you enjoy seeing these Bald Eagles up close.