Thursday, November 5, 2009

Bald Eagle with 30 pound King Salmon


Still on the subject of dining on fish: Bald Eagles are rare in many parts of the US. When we first moved to Tucson, I went to Christopher Columbus Lake early one morning to see what I might photograph. I met a grizzled but gentle older man fishing from a chair at the lake's edge. Seems this had been his spot every morning for several years. But, this particular morning he was excited as he told me the story of the rare and seldom seen bald eagle that had flown by earlier that morning. In all his years he had not seen a bald eagle. I didn't have the heart to tell him I moved here from the Northwest where you can find bald eagles every day -- and, in December, January, and February as many as 300, line the Skagit River picking off King Salmon (or Chinook as they are called in the NW).  Each year the little town of Concrete, Washington sponsors the Skagit River Bald Eagle Festival. I have seen and photographed as many as 30 bald eagles in the same tree along the Skagit. Pretty amazing sight. On one of my trips I photographed this bald eagle sitting on what looks like a 25-30 pound Chinook.

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