Day Five at CVNP–The Eagle Has Launched

Update: Here’s the entire sequence of the bird leaving and returning to the nest.

After photographing some Park Service buildings, I got to the nest around 9:00. I set up my tripod and camera (and my tripod stool), pointing it at the nest, hoping mom would exchange places with her mate. Her head popped up and I grabbed my remote shutter release cable. Sure enough,

she launched and I caught a series of her with a high-speed burst. She flew about a hundred yards away to join her mate, where they copulated. I knew one of them would have to return pretty quickly to keep that egg warm. I kept the camera in position. When she flew back I pressed the release as she approached the nest. Unfortunately, I was premature and only caught her in the lower right of the last frame shot. The light level was low, so I needed an ISO of 1000, resulting in a less than tack sharp image.

I spent the afternoon photographing rock ledges (using my tripod, most shots bracketed for HDR).

I’ll return tomorrow at 8:30. If the bird flies, I’ll be ready to pan her/him on the way back to the nest. After that, it’ll be breakfast, get fuel, and return to Rochester.

-From the river of fire

Author: Stephen Fielding Images

I'm a retired medical sociologist from the University of Rochester. Climate change is one of the two great challenges facing humanity (the other is nuclear weapons). In writing about the impact of climate change I read reputable books and articles on the topic. So when I make statements about climate change you will see a link taking you to the scientific source(s) of the information I provide. As for my independently published photobooks, each has gone through several layers of editing and peer review for both readability and accuracy. This is not to say that everything I say is accurate. Even the New York Times makes mistakes. So, if you find something that is factually incorrect, let me know. I hope you find reading my blog a positive experience. If you do, please encourage your family and friends to have a look. You can find photos from my other photo work by clicking on the My SmugMug Gallery tab, above. Best wishes, -Steve View all posts by Stephen Fielding Images