West Lafayette, IN –A few times now, Dave Wegiel has invited me down to photograph the Bald Eagles that feast along the Wabash River. Boy was I glad I accepted this invite.
This past weekend, I went down to the lookout behind the apartments on north River Road in West Lafayette to spot some Eagles.
Dave, the previous day, had captured some incredible shots of the eagles plucking fish out of the River.
I knew I wanted to make a photo to call my own, so when he messaged me and said he was headed down there again, I was eager to join.
We arrived around 1:45 and glad we did too, because not even 10 minutes went by and we had all the images we left with.
At first, the eagles were all just flying around doing their regular thing:
(sitting in the tree, going for quick hunting flights returning to the trees with nothing, etc)
The funniest part to watch is when the older ones scare the younger ones off of their perch.
After a bit of mucking about, the first swoop in of the day was right in front of us.
*ker-plunk* Like the sound a rock makes when it drops in the water, you could hear it had just snagged its first serving of dinner.
Tucked it away and headed back for its perch in the tree.
The first catch of the day was a small little fish.
Landed with the opposite talon not to lose hold of the fish, and began to eat.
A few quick bites, tossed out the scraps and was back for more.
You could tell it was a good feeding day because of how still the water was. Easy to catch fish.
It also makes a nice reflection in the photos, but I don’t think the eagle cares – they just want to eat.
Houston, the eagle has landed.
Bingo, there’s the main course.
Always check to make sure your belongings are properly stored beneath your feet…
Step aside, this is my dinner.
Yowza. I would not want to be the hunted on this one, that’s a gnarly gash.
Off into the sunset to eat, sleep, and do it all over again:
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