Holla Bend Eagles

If you haven't been to Holla Bend lately this is a great time to go. The eagles have followed the Snow Goose migration to the Bend and are as numerous as I have ever seen them. In fact, I spoke to one of the rangers at the park and he said that even they had not seen this many eagles before. My wife and I were over early last week and saw over 40 in one afternoon.

It's well worth the trip if you have the time.

C/C welcome.

Dave H.

PS > the snow geese are nothing to sneeze at, either! They came late this year but when they came they came in full force!

Great shot Dave! What part of the refuge did you get this shot?

My son, Drew and I were over there last week and saw about 6 and even identified where a group were roosting just as you enter the refuge.

I missed the whole season last year and actually have plans of going over in the morning.

Larry

Thanks, Larry! I took this shot at what I call "kudzu corner." There's an area just about a half mile past where you turn at the levee walk area where the kudzu has taken over many of the trees. There were at least 8 roosting in the trees the day we were there with many more in flight or in the fields across the road.

It's a great time to go. I've seen the most eagle activity between 3 and 5 PM each day when I've gone but there are many there most of the day.

Have a great time.

Dave H.

Nice work Dave! I think the exposure is perfect, and you've shown some really nice detail - especially around the eye. I don't know if you noticed this, but the bg bokeh has a couple of vertical areas that pull my eye right to them. Those areas in the bg almost look like a double exposure. But I think this is a very minor nit, and overall, I really like this. Thanks for posting!

BTW, if you don't mind driving a little, there was an article in last Thursday's paper here about the eagles along Spavinaw Creek in NW Arkansas, where as many as 322 eagles were counted at one location along the creek - in one day. Must be quite a sight!

Great eagle, Dave. I noticed the same oof issues that Bill mentioned. I am curious about the lens that was used. The eagle's head is also a bit close to the edge of the frame for me. But I'm with Bill - these are minor nits. Good work - thanks for posting!

David,

Nice job indeed. Other than the above noted minor details, this is a very nice shot.

Bill mentioned the article about Spavinaw creek and I, along with Tim E. and Larry Roberts can attest it is well worth a visit. We were there a couple of winters ago with a couple of other photographers and the numbers were pretty impressive. If they are up even more now, it would really be a sight to see...

Glenn

Thanks folks!

As to the oof lines in the bg, I'm using a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 w/a 2x teleconverter. I use this combo almost exclusively on the D2x in HSC mode to give me an effective 1200mm range. I think the combination of the long lens, teleconverter and compression factor causes the impression of the double lines on any brightly lit vertical lines in the bg. I don't notice it when shooting w/o the TC. I think this is just a side effect of the lens. The Sigma is a great lens but it does have its own little quirks you have to deal with. I'm currently setting back my pennies for the 200-400VR and the 1.4TC but until then I'll just have to make do.

Thanks for the tip on the Spavinaw creek area. Anyone know if any of Tim E's books have directions to this area for us central AR folks? The newspaper article states that most of the land along the creek is private so if you could give some directions to publicly accesible areas for those of us who are not familiar with the area it would be appreciated. Living in Conway and pastoring a church here doesn't give me a lot of "exploration time" to discover these areas so any help would be a plus.

Thanks and a great day to all!
Dave H.

Dave:

While there are a lot of birds in this area it is tough to get good images. All of the property is private and you are restricted to driving along the narrow road. Many of the trees that harbor eagles are a pretty good ways off. You can get some good flight shots if you are ready and have a big hole in your roof though! Those numbers they are talking about are the total number of birds seen along several miles of the road over a period of time. And I found these birds are not nearly as tame as the ones at Holla Bend where you can literally drive right underneath them. Still, having that many birds in the area is a treat, but I found it rather frustrating.

I don't have the exact directions (and since everything is on private property this area is not included in any of the guidebooks), but here are some vague directions if my mind is remembering correctly - go west from Centerton on Hwy. 102 and turn right (north) onto Hwy. 279. Stay on this highway for several miles until you come down into the valley and cross over the creek, then TURN LEFT a little ways past this on a dirt road. You can follow this road for a number of miles as it winds around and follows the creek and it will eventually come back out onto another paved highway - good eagle country all through there, especially along the creek. Be careful not to get out onto any of the private property - I suspect with all of the press of late the area will be crawling with birders and photographers anyway. I'm headed to Yellowstone to shoot wolves for a week so probably won't be able to get in on any of the eagle mania this year, but I hope you guys all can go get some great shots!

I've never been out to Spavinaw Creek, but here are the directions from the paper too:

Exit I-540 at the Arkansas highway 102 exit in Bentonville. Go west on 102 thru Centerton. Go past Arkansas 279 that heads south until you see Arkansas 279 that goes north.

Go north on Arkansas 279 about two miles to Mt. Olive Road. Go west on Mt. Olive Road.

Follow Mt. Olive Road about three miles to Wildwood Way. Go north on Wildwood Way.

Follow Wildwood Way about three miles until the road heads downhill into the Spavinaw Creek valley. The road will curve to the left and turn to gravel. You are now on Fruitwood Road.

Fruitwood Road will cross Spavinaw Creek. Eagles can be seen to the south of of Fruitwood Road from the bridge to the intersection of Fruitwood Road and Stagecoach Road.

David, your shot of the eagle is very good. They are not easy to get even with a long lense and tripod. I was on the Mulberry River yesterday in a canoe (it was cold, 32 degrees, but sunny) and I saw at least ten eagles at different points along the river. I had my 10d with me in the boat and was able to get pretty close but without a tripod and a very long lense, getting a decent shot is almost impossible plus it is kind of risky to have the camera out in the type of canoe I was in. I got a couple of shots but nothing to compare with your shot.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks to Tim E. and Bill for their help on locating the eagles along Spavinaw. I normally go to Holla Bend or Watershed Road lake on Hwy 124 west of Center Ridge, but the publicity surrounding the lake on Watershed all but killed the eagle migration through there a few years back. I rarely see more than 6 or 8 and they are very elusive. I may have to try my hand along Spavinaw.

Tom, thanks for your kind words and you're right, up close and personal is hard to achieve with eagles in this area. My dream is to make it to Homer, Alaska someday to see the eagles.

You're a brave man for carrying your gear with you in a canoe! I went out with one of my deacons a few years ago on Lake Conway (to shoot some nesting eagles, BTW) with my D100 and zoom. When the boat tipped slightly the ice chest I was setting on shifted under me throwing me, camera, lens, monopod and all into the lake. Good-bye camera gear!

Love your web site! You've got some wonderful shots posted there.

Have a great day!
Dave H.

Dave, I think you've got a great shot here. Good sharpness on the subject and even with the back light you've still got good detail up front. Well done!