eagles

Jan. 27th, 2013 06:46 pm
ironymaiden: (washington)
[personal profile] ironymaiden
i am good at documenting my experiences in a contextless way - here are the things i saw - i am not there, nor my companions, nor our conveyance or our guide.

anyway, Skagit river eagle viewing. i went with my brother B and [livejournal.com profile] e_bourne, and it was a lovely way to spend a morning. it was just the three of us and the guide in a flat-bottomed boat with comfy seats and propane heaters. there was cocoa at about the halfway mark. we were able to go into areas where the water was only a few inches deep, and the boat was stable enough that i could stand as needed to take pictures. the guide rowed as needed to steer, but mostly we floated in the current and enjoyed the sounds of the river.

we "only" saw a dozen or two bald eagles, plus assorted ducks and a heron. at peak, the eagle count is more like 200. the eagles come to feast on the carcasses of salmon, and while we could see fish bits on the bottom, there weren't many left. our guide said that most years the river reeks of dead fish. i'm pretty okay with missing the dead fish stank. the water is crystal clear, and we could see the bottom the whole way. (i failed to get the right combo of settings to capture it from the moving boat.)

but i did capture this, which was the very end of a group of four eagles squabbling and swooping about nearby.
Untitled

the rest of the photoset

afterward, we left the misty mountains, but we did not walk into Mordor. just Mirkwood & Shire Cafe. Mordor Tattoo is upstairs, as is Rivendell Hair. (the food wasn't great, even for vegetarian food. and how the hell can you have the Shire without bacon or a bit of trout?)

Date: 2013-01-28 04:26 am (UTC)
ext_15108: (Default)
From: [identity profile] varina8.livejournal.com
The photos are terrific. What length lens were you using?

Date: 2013-01-28 09:32 am (UTC)
ivy: (canada goose flying)
From: [personal profile] ivy
Oh, neat! Thanks for sharing! I'm sorry I was out of town and thus unable to go this year, but I'll definitely go next year and I'm glad your boat experience was a good one.

Date: 2013-01-28 03:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] e-bourne.livejournal.com
It was all pretty wonderful, and I think a trip again when there are even MORE eagles (and hot cocoa) would be frabjous.

Date: 2013-01-28 04:47 pm (UTC)
ext_15108: (Default)
From: [identity profile] varina8.livejournal.com
Wow, you got amazing detail for only a 200mm max.

And you have tempted me to add this back onto the to-do list for next year.
Edited Date: 2013-01-28 04:48 pm (UTC)

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