Posted by Mike Spivey on December 20, 2008 at 8:33 PM
.... below Keystone dam. This is a 4 wheeler area that is restrected during winter nesting season. There are plenty of eagles there, but it's hard getting a good shot.
Posted by David Bush on December 21, 2008 at 5:50 PM
I have never gotten close enough for an eagle photograph, I'd keep this one anytime. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by Bill Dark on December 21, 2008 at 6:45 PM
Good eagle shots are indeed tough to come by. But it's good you have lots of them to work with. Are you using a blind?
Posted by Tom Kennon on December 21, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Great capture, Mike, thanks for your efforts to get the eagle!
Posted by Mike Spivey on December 21, 2008 at 7:30 PM
This was shot from an abandoned road. As I said, this area is off limits this time of year. You can't legally leave the road. The layout is like this: the road, a railroad track which is pretty busy (which probably acclimates the birds to a little noise) a line of trees the birds perch in, a little beach, and the Arkansas River, which is the reason the birds are there. We shot using the car as a blind for awhile. This juvenile paid no attention to us, so we got out and fired away. This is the only one we saw with any kind of reasonable sight line. We had been several places with no success and were on our way out when we saw this guy. Pretty soon his mate showed up for awhile. I got about 150 good shots, but they were mostly "similars". A few more at :
http://www.spiveyphoto.com/gallery/6878591_UyK5o#440031668_xzup8
This area is only about 15 miles from downtown Tulsa.
Posted by Bill Dark on December 22, 2008 at 8:46 AM
What's a "winter" nesting area? I thought eagles were like most birds and nest in the spring. I think it's more like an eagle feeding and roosting area until the ice thaws up north. There are very few eagles who have taken up residence year round in Arkansas - most return to Alaska when the weather starts warming up, usually around St. Patrick's day...
Posted by Don Kurz on December 22, 2008 at 11:07 AM
"There are very few eagles who have taken up residence year round in Arkansas..."
Bill, there are now over 150 active eagle nests in Missouri. We must be doing something right...I thought Arkansas was the "Natural State."
I must admit that my former division at MDC did a reintroduction program in the 80s. We traded eaglets from Wisconsin for wild turkeys of all things. Commonly, the second or third hatchling does not survive in the nest because of the first bourne's aggression. We had a temporary employee that fed the eaglets in a raised, enclosed platform at Schell-Osage Conservation Area. Around 60 were released over a 5-year period. Prior to that there were no nests in the state for at least 30 years. About three years later, reports started coming in of nest tending eagles. Walla, now 150 nests later. How cool is that!
Best,
Don
Posted by Bill Dark on December 22, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Interesting, Don. Each year they count around 200 bald eagles on Beaver Lake, but there are only one or two pairs that have made the lake their permanent home.
After doing a little research, I found that the Game and Fish Commision started a hacking program with some young eagles from Minnesota and Wisconsin that has seen only modest success. Only 18 pairs of Arkansas eagles successfully fledged young from their nests in 1995. But that was 13 years ago. Why, I'll bet we've got over 151 by now! And I won't even start on the Ivory-billeds... Yep, they don't call it the Natural State fer nuthin'!
Discussion
7 replieshttp://www.spiveyphoto.com/gallery/6878591_UyK5o#440031668_xzup8
This area is only about 15 miles from downtown Tulsa.
Bill, there are now over 150 active eagle nests in Missouri. We must be doing something right...I thought Arkansas was the "Natural State."
I must admit that my former division at MDC did a reintroduction program in the 80s. We traded eaglets from Wisconsin for wild turkeys of all things. Commonly, the second or third hatchling does not survive in the nest because of the first bourne's aggression. We had a temporary employee that fed the eaglets in a raised, enclosed platform at Schell-Osage Conservation Area. Around 60 were released over a 5-year period. Prior to that there were no nests in the state for at least 30 years. About three years later, reports started coming in of nest tending eagles. Walla, now 150 nests later. How cool is that!
Best,
Don
After doing a little research, I found that the Game and Fish Commision started a hacking program with some young eagles from Minnesota and Wisconsin that has seen only modest success. Only 18 pairs of Arkansas eagles successfully fledged young from their nests in 1995. But that was 13 years ago. Why, I'll bet we've got over 151 by now!