Tag: Canvasback Lake

Disturbance

A young bald eagle takes to the skies

This young bald eagle was perched on a tree overlooking Canvasback Lake, watching the waterfowl below, when it suddenly took to the skies. Normally I would have liked more empty sky in the upper left corner of the picture but the eagle bolted with no warning, disturbed by the sharp retort of a shotgun blast, so I had no time to properly compose the shot. The birds aren’t normally so perturbed by the blasts, but I do prefer the off-days during duck hunting season, not because I have a problem with hunting per se but because I prefer the quiet.

It Turns Out, I Can Be Wrong

A bald eagle pair perches above Canvasback Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington

This bald eagle pair has been courting at Ridgefield each spring but I always assumed they nested elsewhere. Apparently not. I had never seen a bald eagle nest before — it was massive. The two youngsters rested while their parents kept a watchful eye from a nearby tree. The young eagles looked pretty big, I suspect they’ll fledge soon, but I could be wrong. Again.

Two bald eagle nestlings look out from their nest high in a tree at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington in May 2012