I got up the morning and the heavy overcast skies made me cancel my plans to head over the the Great Salt Lake to search for Eagles. Instead I headed out with my Mamiya 200/2.8 APO mounted on the 5D figuring to shoot some snow scenics in our little valley. Luckily I had the foresight to bring the 800mm setup anyways.

About 5 minutes from the house I noticed 3 large birds about 100 yards off in a field. Pulled over, took a look, and realized I had 3 immature eagles feeding on something. Then I noticed an adult perched on a fence post even farther away. Set up the tripod and snapped a few shots but then moved on to look for better opportunities. The eagles where in fenced field and I don't cross fence lines without permission.

Ran around the valley shooting other stuff for about a our and then passed by again. This time I noticed the dirt road running alongside this fence. Quick check of the GPS showed that it was indeed a rood leading up into a draw, not the private driveway I always took it to be. So I headed in and was able to get fairly close to the two remaining birds. I positioned by truck at an angle to the birds so that I could hide my movements behind the cab while shooting the lens over the hood. Here are the results.















I'm no eagle expert but the immature is quite dark and the breast feathers still seem awful downy to me. I wonder if this is just a year old bird.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I have to decide whether to head for the lake before sunrise or stick at home and hope these guys come back in to feed.