Around The Bend – Photography By Rich Pomeroy

“In the 50’s and 60’s, if you saw an eagle around here, you’d call the local papers to send a photographer and newsperson out”

Random guy I ran into while watching the nest

He’s totally right. Bald eagles are a sight that most of us can’t help but marvel at. With their dark brown bodies, beautiful white head and tail, bright yellow beak, and 7-8 foot wingspan. Soaring against a bright blue sky or just sitting in a tree is really something to behold.

I’ve always been thrilled when I saw a bald eagle while driving along anywhere in the past, but I took a special interest when we moved to Minnesota With the second largest population of bald eagles in the country (9, 000) behind only Alaska, we knew we’d have plenty of opportunities to view these majestic birds. My wife Bonnie and I spent several Saturday and Sunday drives along the Mississippi River observing the birds catch fish, serve it to their young ones, and even watched them teach the juveniles how to fly.

The growth in population of bald eagles is truly a success story. What most young people aren’t aware of is that we almost lost the Bald Eagle in the US back in the 1950’s and 60’s due to DDT poisoning and other threats. The bald eagle pairs nesting in the US dipped to 417 in 1963. Today, there are over 10,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states.

According to avianreport.com, Michigan’s bald eagle population dipped to 52 breeding pairs in 1961. Today there are over 300,000 bald eagles nationwide, and about 900 breeding pairs in Michigan alone. It’s a great success story for the country’s national bird.

Eagle catching a fish on the Mississippi River 2011

This story is about one eagle family and one photographer who observed them for the last two years. This exercise began as simply a way to increase my eagle portfolio and nothing else. I spent several days at the nest this spring and created several images while doing so. One day while reviewing my images, a friend suggested that I write an article so others could learn more about the challenges of daily life for eagles and their young.

Once I committed to documenting daily life, I began going to the nest nearly every day from that point on. Unlike Disney, where I could just say “hey I’m here, cue the action”, most days were spent with hardly any action at all. Mom may be in the nest and Dad out hunting for food and it would be a lot of sitting and observing, but with no photos. When the action did hit, it would be over in a matter of minutes. Occasionally I lost focus and started looking at my phone or something else, and look up to see Dad had joined Mom in the nest by coming in from the River side and not in front of the nest.

I don’t profess to be an eagle expert, I just wanted to share what I witnessed as I observed this one family. Since these photos were taken over a period of four months under different weather and lighting conditions, not all photos are equal in appearance and some I wouldn’t even put on my website, but they do help to document daily life and they are what I photographed at that moment.

Meet Dad. This photo was taken in Mid January as Mom and Dad were getting ready to begin their spring ritual of cleaning the nest from last year and preparing it for this years’ eggs. Mom laid the eggs in late January and they spent the next month taking turns sitting on the eggs. Once the eggs were hatched, both Mom and Dad take turns brooding the baby eagles, but the job is left to mostly Mom who spends about 90% of her time on the nest while Dad is out hunting for food or sitting nearby watching the nest.

Meet Mom. As mentioned, Mom spends most of her time in the nest before, and after, the babies are born. But she does leave occasionally to stretch her legs and wings and also search for food. People ask how you can tell the difference between a male and female eagle. Since I never want to get close enough to look at the body parts, I’ll just say that the female surpasses the male in body weight (20-25% larger), have a longer beak and talons, and usually a larger wingspan.

Locals can’t recall how long the nest has been there nor how long this couple have been occupying the nest. Eagles will occasionally steal a nest from another eagle, but it’s rare. Most bald eagles mate for life and I’ve seen both of these eagles year round in the general area near where the nest is. And, there are several Immature Bald Eagles in the area that I assume are descendants of this pair. Last year, they hatched four baby eaglets of which three survived. This year, the pair had two baby eaglets and both have survived.

This particular nest is about seven feet across and ten to twelve foot deep. With Mom, Dad, and two to three eagles being born each year, it can get pretty crowded since each has such a great wingspan. The season begins with what’s known as an egg bowl nest inside the larger nest. Mom and Dad gather lots of softer nesting material like grasses leaves, or whatever is available locally. That is what they lay the eggs in, providing a soft cushion.

So what is day to day life like for new eagle parents?

In early April, I witnessed the breathtaking moment when the first eaglet emerged from the nest. Before that, the mother would dedicate several minutes and sometimes longer with her head bowed inside the nest, and I was filled with curiosity about her actions. When that baby popped its head up the excitement reached a fever pitch as the real action began.

The baby eagles are fed the first day of birth. Dad brings the food to the nest and Mom tears the food into small bites for the baby. I was able to witness this, and it was thrilling to see Dad arrive with the food and leave shortly after, leaving Mom to feed the babies.

Dad bringing a fish shortly after the baby eagles were born.

Feeding Time

Dad leaving after delivering the food

This routine continues for the next couple weeks with Dad staying off the next, but usually staying close enough “just in case”. He spends most of the rest of his day hunting for food or as I mentioned earlier, sitting in a tree nearby.

By the third week, I’d find the nest unoccupied by either parent for short periods of time as they relax the brooding cycle. I could also see that on more sunny or rainy days, Mom would cover the eaglets from the weather with her body to protect them

There was one very nerve wracking night for me. Mom and Dad rarely left the nest unattended that first week. However, unexpectedly Mom left for a few minutes while Dad was away and an immature bald eagle approached the nest. My heart stopped because I was certain the juvenile was going to take the baby, but luckily I believe he was just curious because as you can see, his talons are empty. Scary moment for me

As shown here, if he had wanted to take the Eaglet, these tools would have done the job

Within seconds, both Mom and Dad were back on the nest and checking on the babies.

People often ask how to tell the difference between a juvenile bald eagle, an immature bald eagle and a mature bald eagle. It has to do with their plumage. A juvenile replaces their down coat while still in the nest and begins to grow the feathers of an immature eagle. . They gradually change over the next 4-5 years, but they don’t achieve the beautiful white head and tail until year five. Other physical changes also occur. Their beak turns from a dark brown to a vibrant yellow. Their talons also grow larger and stronger, improving their hunting and fishing talent.

Immature Bald Eagle. Notice the plumage and beak difference in color from mature Bald Eagle

Sadly for me, the tree that the nest resides in has completely leafed out. It’s bittersweet for me since I invested so much time and energy watching the juveniles grow and the care that Mom and Dad provided. For the next several weeks I’ll watch as the babies continue to grow and begin fledging behavior. I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ll continue documenting what I can but photo opportunities are almost non existent from this point on.

Will I go back next year and repeat the same exercise, or will I search out another nest (with better access)? I’m not sure. I will probably visit this family again from time to time, but watching this pair and their care for their younger ones closely matched the research I had done on all nesting bald eagles.

I wanted to leave you with a few images of these magnificent birds. Enjoy and Keep Getting Out in Nature. It does the mind, spirit and body wonders……..Rich