I’m happy to report that our mother eagle has laid eggs and is on the nest. Papa eagle is working diligently to keep the family fed while one of them is in the nest at all times. I had hoped to get a closeup of him fishing upstream, but it seems there has been a change in the family’s habits, and they are now fishing somewhere downstream in an inaccessible location.
When I first arrived at the canyon the eagles nest looked abandoned, so I drove on upstream looking for them. I have been suspecting for a while that they were fishing downstream, so I didn’t drive all the way to the dam.
I stopped to look again on the return trip, and was glad to see a white head deep in the nest. Papa eagle had just delivered a fish and before I could get a shot he was gone.
While I there, I decided to check out the new facilities in the lower parking lot, which has been closed for two or three years. When I first discovered the nest, I spent many hours sitting along the riverbank watching them hatch their eggs and raise their eaglets. I think this is my seventh year watching them.
Anyway, I’m happy to report, the parking lot is open along with the new restrooms. While I was snooping around along the riverbank, I discovered that papa eagle had just taken a short flight to a pine tree, just on the other side of the river from me.
I took up a position about 75 yards from him, and sat down to watch. Eventually he rested up, adjusted his feathers and took flight. Unfortunately I didn’t get any video today, but when the eaglets hatch and are visible over the rim of the nest, I’ll bring along my video tripod and get some footage of the excitement!
Here are a few stills of the takeoff, and one of the new arrivals to the canyon. It seems the red-winged blackbirds are home early this year! They don’t appear to be in full color yet, but it was still nice to see and hear them!
If you would like to learn more about Colorado’s great raptors, please consider a purchase of my book Seasons of the Raptor. The book chronicals a full year of photography as I traveled the state watching and photographing our magnificent birds. The book is filled with dozens of beautiful full color pictures, locations where you can find birds, and tips and tricks to capture amazing images for yourself.
The book is avaialbe on my Amazon author page, along with several other photo books, including how to shoot wildlife, how to get the best images in the harsh Rocky Mountain Winter, and my personal favorite, Two Decades of Digital Photography,.
If you are concerned about endangered wildlife in the western United States, please consider purchasing my series of historical fiction wildlife novels, as told through my group of fascinating fictional characters. In the first of the series, Spirit of the Wolf, you will learn the story of the most famous Yellowstone wolf of all time. Thundering Hooves tells the exciting story of Picasso, the famous stallion who ruled over the Colorado Sand Wash Basin for over two decades.
Steven W. Krull is a renowned photographer and author who has been photographing and writing of the beauty and wildlife of the Colorado Rocky Mountains for over two decades. Please visit his website at S.W. Krull Imaging to view his work, including thousands of prints for sale, stock images for commercial use, and his library of published books.
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Colorado Photographer / Author / Outdoorsman | Steven W. Krull 