The Shaiwassee National Wildlife Reserve Wildlife Drive opened on the first of June this year. Today was the first day I could get there for this season. And I had a guest to whom I have said this is the greatest place, ever! Or in mid-Michigan. So the pressure was on to deliver some wild life.
For today, this time of year, the critters delivered. We didn't see great numbers, but there was diversity.
We witnessed two really interesting critter acts. The first were multiple groups of pelicans moving from an area to someplace else. All moving a loose form of unison, but more about them later. The next was an Eagle in a place I've never seen one before.
On the way out of the Refuge, the last half mile of Wilderness Drive usually doesn't have a lot going on. Just after I made the statement to my guest, she says Hey, there's a bird over there. And after confirming that the critter on the ground was a bird, I could confirm it was an Eagle. On the ground, just by a pool of standing water. Didn't look like it was feasting, but who knows?
I watched the Eagle for a few minutes. I could tell it was getting ready to do something other than sit. And then it transitioned from ground forager to aerial predator. And all I can think of is don't screw this up. It was fun to watch, and I didn't screw it up. So I end up with a series of an Eagles low flight path that ends up going nose up into a tree.
For the initial transition, since the Eagle was not in a tree with altitude to lose to trade for speed, it just went horizontal with about two steps and then low level flight. I thought the wing action would be fast and chaotic. Not the case, just fast. This is the fist shot in the sequence I have with the landing gear up and locked.
If I didn't know that this was a take off event, you could make the argument that the bird was trying to slow down with the wings in a forward position. But this bird is stretching its wing forward to push itself for more speed.
The Eagle eventually ended up on a branch in a tree. I thought that was the end of the chase. Again, I was mistaken. Although in a tree, somehow the sun found a way to light up the head. And somehow I didn't miss this one.
Aside from the really lucky positioning of the sun, this is really sharp, detailed photo. Not sure I get the same photo with the D500. And a mostly unnoticed element, the feet and talons really stand out. In the takeoff sequence, it happened so fast, I couldn't get the zoom all the way out to 500. With the Eagle sitting in the tree, I had time to get the zoom right.
So good at the Refuge. My guest had a good time. Wonder if this photo will end up in her house sometime?
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