I travel to Squaw Creek each fall to photograph Bald Eagles. The window of opportunity is tied with the arrival and departure of the Snow Geese. The geese don't arrive until it is colder in the north. As the number of geese increases, juvenile eagles begin to arrive. The eagle population peaks shortly after the peak of the goose population. When Squaw Creek freezes over, the geese leave. The eagles remain until they can no longer find a dead goose to eat. The Friends of Squaw Creek web site contains a weekly estimate of the number of eagles and Geese. The most recent count was 227,000 Snow Geese and 57 eagles. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/SquawCreek/bald_eagle_surveys.htm
The water at Squaw Creek is extremely shallow. It can freeze over night if conditions are right. Yesterday it was 60% frozen. The water wasn't as deep this year, so the birds were further off. Unlike most visits, I was able to get in as soon as I arrived. The geese flew off before Sunrise but should be back by evening. The weather is still too mild to kill geese, so the eagles had to look elsewhere for food.
I photographed geese leaving. I didn't get close enough with my super-telephotos to photograph an eagle. The most exciting shot of the day was a single young Tundra Swan that had a companion Mallard. The orange light from the rising sun completely saturated the Mallard's orange legs. I also photographed some sparrows back-lit in some weeds. I was totally frustrated by a handsome buck deer. My Canon 1D Mark IV would not cooperate with a center focus in the trees so I didn't get a photo.
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