Saturday 23 January 2016

Bald eagles, Downy Woodpecker(20160109) January means Eagles in Nova Scotia.

Well, here it is January 2016, Happy New Year to all! Since the 1940's the local farmers around Kentville Nova Scotia have fed Bald Eagles through the winters. So we are headed out to see how the gathering of the feathered clan are doing. First thing though my resident rooster was around so I'll add him as a starting point for this post. He is my buddy I have taken to calling "Feathers".

We headed out and in an area where the bride and I had spotted about 20 eagles on New Years Day, we found about the same number hanging around in the trees. So we swug into the area to see if we could manage some shots. But the sun was all wrong and we knew we would have opportunities for closer birds so we held off shooting. On the way out, Len spotted this beauty so we stopped.
I thought it was interesting to see how he used one of his toes to hold a piece of the bark out of the way as he goes after his little grub.
Just up the road we found a little Eagle action so we stopped and spent some time.
Not accustomed to being the passenger I made a major rookie mistake and tried to shoot over a hot engine hood. I lost most of my images due to heat shimmer, but I did manage the odd keeper.
Along with about a dozen adults there were 3 or 4 juveniles. They too make great subjects, particularly in flight.
Here is a youngster showing that he is ready to be wearing his big boy pants. They walk with such attitude, it is terrific to watch.
We spent some time around Sheffield Mills but only found a few long distance birds. We dropped in and said "hi" to mom and had a cup of tea. Then it was off home. That's how we put a little "wild" in our life on this day!
Turbo

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