February...the Month of the Bald Eagle

 "I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly."  ~  Rocky Mountain High (John Denver) 

Over the years, I've attempted taking photographs of bald eagles in the wild at various locations from Starved Rock State Park in Illinois, Credit Island in Iowa, along the Mississippi River in LeClaire, Iowa and in the mountains of Colorado. With little more at the end of the day than a need to thaw out, warm up and drink something hot to curb the chill, I'd determined that the only good photographs I would ever get were the ones I took in zoos and nature parks that housed rescued birds of prey. I should add that an exception is made for Sitka, Alaska. Viewing bald eagles in Sitka is comparable to seeing a robin anywhere else. They're prevalent and everywhere; yet the photos I took of them there weren't as good as I'd hoped. They ended up being part of Alaska's beautiful landscapes in all of the images.

This year proved different with better timing and a new camera lens. My second visit to Barr Lake State Park in Colorado was a day well spent and one that I'll always remember fondly. It was also my birthday. Seeing over a dozen eagles in the trees, flying and perched on lake ice was a beautiful gift of a day. Also a plus is that I got so many great photos, I've yet to go through all of them. With patience, we're rewarded in the smallest of ways. 

Below are screen shots of these images on my website www.veronica-batterson.pixels.com with the high resolution images viewable there. With the exception of a pair of juvenile eagles near our house in Westminster, all recently uploaded images are from my day at Barr Lake State Park. I continue to add more, so please visit often. As always, thanks for reading (and viewing) what I share here.