Bald Eagle Photo

Eagle watching and taking Bald Eagle photo in the natural habitat is very interesting for both professional photographers and beginners. It may be dangerous to approach a Bald Eagle’s nest, but taking pictures of these birds circling in the sky is a wonderful experience. Bald Eagles start migration when rivers and lakes freeze over and they have to move southwards to find new food sources. Many Bald Eagles move to large dams where the water remains open. Bald Eagles with their large wings migrate over large distances by riding thermals (columns of warm rising air.) After rising, an Eagle starts gliding without flapping the wings until it finds another thermal. A flight pattern of each individual bird is determined by wind currents, but a group of 10-15 birds tries to keep together.

The average speed of a migrating Bald Eagle is about 30 miles per hour. Bald Eagle photo galleries taken during migration show that juveniles don’t migrate together with adult birds. Young Eagles start migrating before their parents and have to find their own way. Fledglings wander in a wide range and no one knows if they do it consciously or just lose their way.

Bald Eagles are mainly fish eaters. They are able to find food in both salt and fresh water. Occasionally they take small ruminants, ducks and other water birds and even carrion, if its available and easy to obtain. A Bald Eagle photo even has documented a situation when a Bald Eagle steals the prey from other birds and even other Bald Eagles. Bald Eagles have no natural enemies. Humans, who were their main competitors for food and territory, nowadays cannot kill these birds because they are protected by the law. The only serious threat to the Bald Eagle population is toxic chemicals that accumulate in the prey and contaminate the Eagles and other carnivores on the top of the food chain.

Many people believe that the Bald Eagle can attack domestic livestock and poultry. The lifting power of these large birds is only 4 pounds. A large fish can even drag a Bald Eagle into the water, if the bird gets stuck in the fish with its talons. The large wings of the Bald Eagle are designed for gliding and soaring, but not for lifting heavy prey. Actually, no Bald Eagle photo documents this bird carrying a chicken or a calf.