Boy did I learn a lesson. You can't get anywhere near ducks or they all take off in a group wanting nothing to do with you. So when they launched I nailed this one with my trusty Z9 and 100-400/1.4xtc. We're coming into our duck season so looking forward to catching more of them.
A few shots from yesterday. The eagles were very very far away, not much details left after cropping but that's what I was dealt with. I like the background with the autumn foliage colors though.
The Z9 did a great job picking out the great blue heron's eye.
Thanks Robert! I am not sure what was going on in the last shot, it was very far away. I am thinking maybe the eagle was trying to steal a fish from the great blue heron? But I didn't see any fish. It's very unusual for me to see great blue herons in the middle of a deep river. Here is the shot right after the one posted. Very poor quality, just too far away. The bokeh looks weird too, not sure if it was heat shimmering but it was only 50 degrees F.
Douglas L wrote:
Thanks Robert! I am not sure what was going on in the last shot, it was very far away. I am thinking maybe the eagle was trying to steal a fish from the great blue heron? But I didn't see any fish. It's very unusual for me to see great blue herons in the middle of a deep river. Here is the shot right after the one posted. Very poor quality, just too far away. The bokeh looks weird too, not sure if it was heat shimmering but it was only 50 degrees F.
No need to feel the image is less because of the shimmer. It is the subject matter of this one that is super interesting. I like images that come with a some information ... from good references even.
Is the GBH injured or did it drop a fish? And what is that big bubble above its right wing?
Eagles steal from ospreys and will take any injured large bird they see on the water. There is a recycling facility a mile+ from my house. Most folks do not notice that about 300+ yards away and to the far right there are almost always one or two Bald Eagles sitting in a small stand of "super-canopy" Eastern White Pines at a bend in a large river. These pines are very high and so offer the highest perches. So, the eagles sit there watching the big, slow river and for any injured among the scores of gulls and vultures in the recycling facility. I went under that small stand of EWP's with binocs (to search the canopy from below). There is no nest; I found it downriver about a mile. However, the ground under those pines is littered with long bird feathers, some bones and lots of guano.
Eagles also kill young loon chicks when they can. And that can be a fatal mistake by the eagle. The following incident happened up the highway from me at Highland Lake, where I used to fish as a boy and sometimes look for loons in the more recent years.
Looking at this image you captured makes me ask a question that never occurred to me. Why don't eagles attack GBH's that are standing/fishing in shallow waters. It's because of that heron bill.
So looks like we will never know why that eagle went for that GBH. My guess is that the eagle succeeded in getting the GBH to drop a fish it had just caught. But when I look at again, it seems the GBH is injured. Did the GBH stand up or stay down? Did it fly off?
Thanks for posting that fascinating image Douglas!
bs kite wrote:
No need to feel the image is less because of the shimmer. It is the subject matter of this one that is super interesting. Is the GBH injured or did it drop a fish.
Eagles steal from ospreys and will take any injured large bird they see on the water. There is a recycling facility a mile of so from my house. Most folks do not notice that about 300 yards away and to the far right there are almost always one or two Bald Eagles sitting in a small stand of "super-canopy" Eastern White Pines at a bend in a large river. These pines are very high and so offer the highest perches. So, the eagles can sit there watching the big, slow river and the scores of gulls and vultures in the recycling facility.
Eagles also kill young loon chicks when they can. And that can be a fatal mistake by the eagle. The following incident happened up the highway from me at Highland Lake, where I used to fish as a boy and sometimes look for loons in the more recent years.
Looking at this image you captured makes me ask a question that never occurred to me. Why don't eagles attack GBH's that are standing/fishing in shallow waters. It's because of that heron bill.
So looks like we will never know why that eagle went for that GBH. My guess is that the eagle succeeded in getting the GBH to drop a fish it had just caught. But when I look at again, it seems the GBH is injured. Did the GBH stand up or stay down? Did it fly off?
Thanks for posting that fascinating image Douglas!
I thought the eagle was diving for a fish, didn't know it was a GBH until I loaded the files on the computer, just too far away. Here is another subsequent shot, taken in APS-C mode, uncropped. No idea if the GBH got out of water or not, I wasn't paying attention, hard to see with naked eyes. Here is another strange thing I saw yesterday, in the second picture, I think the thing in the fish's mouth was the swim bladder? Maybe it "popped out" because the eagle squeezed the fish too hard? I have been to Cononwingo many times but this was the first time I saw a fish like that. For the record the second picture was taken with an "Sxxx" camera, just posting here for conversation.
Taken yesterday afternoon with the Z9 and the 600mm f/4 TC - the first image was shot wide open at 840mm, while the second image was shot at f/8 at 600mm:
Douglas L wrote:
I thought the eagle was diving for a fish, didn't know it was a GBH until I loaded the files on the computer, just too far away. Here is another subsequent shot, taken in APS-C mode, uncropped. No idea if the GBH got out of water or not, I wasn't paying attention, hard to see with naked eyes. Here is another strange thing I saw yesterday, in the second picture, I think the thing in the fish's mouth was the swim bladder? Maybe it "popped out" because the eagle squeezed the fish too hard? I have been to Cononwingo many times but this was the first time I saw a fish like that. For the record the second picture was taken with an "Sxxx" camera, just posting here for conversation....Show more →
This first image looks much like the posture of a heron as it recovers from a strike that missed the fish. And in this image it looks like the eagle was after a fish that was behind the heron. So, maybe they were after separate fish and it was a coincidence/chance that the two happen to be that close together. Maybe a school of small fish?
Went to a local lake to shoot the swans but they were all the way on the other side, I would say 400-500 yards away, so I just snapped a few environmental shots.
For you all Z8 owners, my Z8 is coming in next week. Can't resist since Nikon is having a $300 instant rebate on the body. I have a Z9. I have been debating if I should get a Z8 or another Z9. I guess...Is Z8 not much different than the Z9 other than the battery life and video time limit? The build isn't as robust but the Z8 is to replace my Z6.
TooManyShots wrote:
For you all Z8 owners, my Z8 is coming in next week. Can't resist since Nikon is having a $300 instant rebate on the body. I have a Z9. I have been debating if I should get a Z8 or another Z9. I guess...Is Z8 not much different than the Z9 other than the battery life and video time limit? The build isn't as robust but the Z8 is to replace my Z6.
What's the question for us here? You're going to have it in your own hands, make your own impressions
I suspect coming from the Z9 you'll immediately notice all the ways in which the build quality is inferior.
