Love, Joy and Peas: bald eagle

Showing posts with label bald eagle. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Adult Bald Eagle Feeds Two Baby Eagles

Happy wild Wednesday! My husband took leave today and we went to see the bald eagle nest at the US National Arboretum. The area closest to the nest is closed to protect the eagles but they have some telescopes set up along the open part of the trail (near the azalea collections).

It was a blessing to see the nest in person but the best photos (first four in this post) were taken via the television in the Arboretum's Visitor Center, which was broadcasting the live eagle cam.

When we first arrived it was just the two eaglets then the adult bald eagle flew in with fresh fish for the babies. It looks like there were still some leftovers in the nest too.

Even if on a television screen (or this blog post), I think these wild birds are amazing.

And just for reference, this was the best photo I got of the nest from the ground. You can make out an adult eagle head towards the upper right but the television/cam photos are much better.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you, America and our bald eagles!

Related posts:
2015 Eagle Nest: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/wild-eagles-nest-at-us-national.html
Eagle Festival: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/eagle-festival-photos.html
Blackwater Eagles: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/blackwater-national-wildlife-refuge.html

Copyright note: I don't know the actual legality of copyrighting photos taken of a television/cam and the main reason I use the copyright is because I don't like seeing my photos used without permission. However, if you want to use them for government, educational or nonprofit purposes, you have my permission (though a link and photo credit would be appreciated). If you want to use them for other reason, please contact me at lovejoypeas@gmail.com first. Thank you.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wild Eagles Nest at US National Arboretum

Happy wild Wednesday! As promised in last week's post, here are our wild bald eagle photos from two separate trips to the U.S. National Arboretum where a couple of adult bald eagles have a protected nest. Hikers can't get so close as to disturb the eagles but you can see the nest from certain parts of the azalea gardens that aren't cordoned off as well as from a bit of the road nearby.

My dear husband was kind enough to let me publish his photos here too. I like how much prettier the sky looks in his (this is likely due to a filter). In both of the above photos you can see the wild bald eagle guarding its nest (the eagle is on a branch to the right of the nest).

The bright blue sky is a tip off that these two photos are from a separate day trip. It was really exciting to see the eagle flying overhead as we walked on one of the lower azalea trails.

Because we were in the woods it was hard to get a good shot but the eagle flew over us a few times, presumably circling the area to ensure its nest was safe.

God willing, we'll have more trips and hopefully some better photos to share on future wild Wednesday posts. While seeing wild eagles is more exciting, I do have some better quality photos of captive eagles from the National Zoo if you'd like to see more eagles (just let me know).

Thank you for visiting! May God bless America, our bald eagles and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Blackwater eagle: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/blackwater-national-wildlife-refuge.html
Eagle festival: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/eagle-festival-photos.html
Osprey photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/07/osprey-photos-and-haiku-poem.html

Monday, March 12, 2012

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Photos

Heron in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Photograph by Phyllis Wheeler

This weekend we visited Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge for the first time because we'd heard about their 12th annual Eagle Festival on the radio on the morning of the event. The festival was fun and we took advantage of the free admission to tour the refuge as well. As you can see above we spotted a beautiful wild heron. I always feel so blessed when seeing these majestic birds.

Scenic vista in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Photograph by Phyllis Wheeler

We enjoyed walking and driving around the beautiful park and were really thrilled to spot two wild eagles circling above us.

Bald Eagle in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Photograph by Ben Wheeler

The eagles were really high up in the sky so the photo above was the best we could get with our current lenses but if we get a larger zoom lens we'll likely go back for some better shots. Still, this is a nice memento of our fabulous day in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. May God bless you with something near and dear to your heart, dear reader.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Eagle Festival Photos


One winged female bald eagle Photo by Phyllis Wheeler

This morning my husband heard about the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge's 12th annual Eagle Festival and we decided to check it out. We had a great time and saw this one captive eagle (above) who was wounded in a fight with another bird as well as four wild eagles (two in the refuge and two just outside). In addition to eagles we viewed four different kinds of owls, a hawk and a vulture. There was also an assortment of preserved animals on display. I felt really bad for the one winged eagle. She really didn't seem to like being on display but it was quite amazing to get so close to the beautiful animal. You can see what other activities and displays were available here.

Asian eagle owl
Photo by Ben Wheeler

Screech owl
Photo by Phyllis Wheeler

The owl handlers were really patient. The Asian eagle owl was superbly trained and the poor screech owl was brain damaged but on the positive side, it didn't seem to care that people were crowding around it and taking photos.

Next year, God willing, we're going to bring binoculars so we can better view the wild eagles. What a blessing it was to see these amazing creatures up close. May the God of all peace reign in your heart today!