I drove to the Skagit River flats last weekend. The area had flooded and I heard that the bald eagles were congregating in trees on high ground. It was a grey day, drizzly and dark. The reports were true. We found 15 eagles in a tree, and as soon as we stepped out of the car, we saw why. Voles swam in the flooded fields, scurried under the car, hid in the tall grass. A few drowned voles lay on their sides in the water. It was a buffet for eagles, and they acted showed no interest in further dining. I never touched a camera. Exposing for the black backlit eagles would have pegged the histogram to the right, blowing out the sky. Without light, natural or artificial, there is no shot. Sometimes the experience is enough.
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January 20, 2009 at 1:19 pm |
I drove up to the Skagit River flats on Monday, Jan. 19, under sunny skies and no flooding. I was looking for snow geese, especially the big groups of hundreds of birds. No luck finding a big group close to a road, unfortunately. I did see a couple of juvenile eagles in the trees.
January 22, 2009 at 5:55 pm |
I plan to hit the beach this weekend maybe Ozzett or Rialto. Ozzett has some native petroglyphs carved in rock I want to shoot plus the animals are so tame. When things warm up I plan to hike down Rialto beach past the hole in the wall and there are some rocks that seals haul up on. Later this summer we always hike up the Soleduck river and over the high divide where bears and goats are sometimes closer than you want them to be. We do live in a very beautiful part of the world here in the NW and just being here is reward enough.
January 23, 2009 at 6:21 pm |
Hi Art,
Many of us are heading up to the Bald Eagle Festival in Skagit this weekend. None of those going have ever been to that area before, and really don’t know what to expect.
Do you have any recommendations in terms of specific areas to visit? Clearly going during the Festival isn’t ideal for photography, but we’re trying to make the best of the date…
January 23, 2009 at 10:04 pm |
I saw 15 eagles along the Sammish Flats just south of Chukanut Drive a couple weeks ago. I would head out there.
January 23, 2009 at 11:36 pm |
Sounds like an amazing place, Art. The only time I’ve seen a Bald Eagle in the wild was on the road to the Salton Sea. It was feeding on some carcass but flew off before I could stop the car much less take a photo. The experience was enough.