immature eagle

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By Jordan Lake Dam: Close Fly-By 11-08-2018
I was on top of the Jordan Lake dam this morning.
A large flock of crows was mobbing a red-tailed hawk between me and down towards the tailrace and Haw River.
There were more than a dozen crows.  Between the crows’ shrieks and the screaming hawk, the sky was noisy.
And then everything went silent as crows scattered and the hawk rolled upright and stared behind me, over my shoulder.
I turned around and found myself literally on the same level as this inbound 3-year-old bald eagle.
It flew slightly up and over me, made a large lazy turn and came back.
As it passed over me again, a little bit higher, it cocked its head to take one last look at me.
Oh, my.  I think I started breathing again some time around noon!

By Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle Etiquette Rules 11/02/2018
How to Respect the Bald Eagles and Get your Photo:
(Doc’s personal eagle etiquette rules do NOT include watching breeding eagles and nests):
1) Eagles have a personal distance of 300 feet. You get closer than 300 feet – a football field in distance – and they leave.
2) When you get too close and an eagle leaves, you have just disturbed its feeding.
3) At the dam – that 300 foot rule (which by the way is the Federal legal distance to keep us from disturbing eagles) means you should not go more than 1/2 way down the length of the riprap.
4) Bring a chair or blanket for sitting on the rocks. Sit in one place.
5) Have a couple of hours to sit.
6) RESIST the temptation to dash down the length of the riprap when an eagle shows up – they go right back down the river. And remember, you just stopped their feeding efforts.
7) The very best photo I ever saw of an eagle at the Jordan Lake, Haw River riprap was taken by a lady with her point and shot camera – the eagles came right up river to where we were sitting and proceeded to fish in front of us.
I photographed this 2-year-old eagle at the Jordan Lake Haw River riprap this morning. I was half way down the riprap.

By Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Fishing, 4 photos, 10/26/2018
It was cold.  It was windy.  The fog kept mixing with the rain.  
Sometimes I could see the Haw River below the Jordan Lake Dam. 
 Sometimes the mists swallowed it.
And then the weather conditions didn’t matter.
This beautiful 2-year-old bald eagle was hungry and he was looking for a fish.
You can see the rain all around him.
 
 
A fish caught his eye, he banked hard, reversed direction and flew into the mists just above the river.
Did he catch his fish?
 
 
The grey air was still partially obscuring a clear view of him, but I could see a fish dangling from one foot!
 
 
As the 2-year-old banked further, he lifted above the fog and mist and I could clearly see his catch.
He flew out of sight, back into all the grey weather.

By Jordan Lake Bald Eagles 10/21/2018
The autumn air this morning was cold, crisp, clear and blustery.
It filled the bald eagles with an urge to test the wind and each other.
The bald eagle up top is a fledgling – one of this year’s babies.
The bald eagle down below is a 3-year-old.
They were both screaming when they appeared from the trees.
The tumbling mass of wings, tails, talons and beaks was awesome.