Lately I’m seeing Golden Eagles more frequently than usual and a friend mentioned one soaring over her Mosier home the same day I caught this one further east, on the WA side.
Golden Eagle soaring over a field with snow not completely melted off yet.
I love conducting winter raptor surveys for East Cascades Audubon. I traverse two specific routes, counting & hopefully photographing each raptor that I encounter. Some days I have wonderful luck and other days not so much. This day in February was a good one! Many of the raptors you see on my website were found during surveys.
Bald Eagle taking off in flight. Shot at 500mm, cropped for detail.
Sometimes I can’t get the photo because they’re too far away; or in this instance, too close for my lens.
A Golden Eagle flying too close for my 500mm lens to capture, but look at that wing pattern!
I took a couple of friends on a Sunday Drive, hoping to find eagles. Most of our migrating eagles seem to have already left, but we found a good number to enjoy!
Subadult Bald Eagle near the top of a tree along the Columbia River under a beautiful blue sky.
My friend Kathy rescued an injured Bald Eagle on her friend's property and delivered the female eagle to Rowena Wildlife Clinic. Two weeks later, on 2.2.22, Robin picked the eagle up from Rowena and brought her back to her territory, to this property where she was originally found. It was an amazing privilege to witness the release. I wish you all could see Robin's incredible photos of the eagle at the clinic; & Kathy's photos of the original rescue. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to Rowena Wildlife Clinic, they are nonprofit and depend on donations to support all the wildlife they take in.
Kathy and Robin discussing strategy before removing the eagle in her carrier from Robin’s truck.
Slowly opening the latch on the carrier before the cover is removed.
The eagle kicked open the door and maneuvered her way out of the carrier.
She immediately took flight as soon as her talons touched the grassy field.
In two seconds she was out of the carrier and halfway across the field.
A nearby conifer forest was her destination.
Approximately 3 seconds from release to her landing comfortably on a fir branch. Thanks to Kathy for rescuing her and Rowena Wildlife Clinic for tending her injuries, she is back with her mate in the Columbia River Gorge.
Life can be so fragile for our wild creatures, an injured wrist can mean starvation and death. In this instance however, she will go through at least another season. I’m grateful to all those involved and I’m thrilled to have witnessed the release.
I took a day for myself, free of responsibility. No surveys, no reports, no class, no photo editing, no site additions, no ‘to-do’s of any sort. Because the wind was blowing, there wasn’t too much to photograph, but I did spend quality time with this gorgeous subadult Bald Eagle in the Columbia River Gorge.
Subadult Bald Eagle at the top of a small fir tree with wind blowing his feathers about.