As The Eagle Turns- Discovery

For the last 30 years I have been exploring the backcountry and lakes of northern Michigan on my motorcycle. in northern Michigan there are many inland lakes that abound with wildlife from deer to loons, just waiting to be photographed. I have driven many of the roads exploring the area, and when I cannot go any further in my car  I pull out my motorcycle and keep exploring. I even carry my camera and lens in the side bags of my motorcycle, just in case.

With my yellow BMW GS650 enduro motorcycle I explored all the nooks and crannies you could not get to with a car

One day I drove my bike down a dirt road that I had not seen before. It ended at an inland lake with a small dock. While standing on the dock I noticed an eagle nest high in a tree. I knew that eagles frequented this lake from past trips, always in the distance at the water’s edge, but never near the nest. I was more interested in the nest. I made a mental note to come back some day and see if there was any nest action worth photographing. It took over 10 years for that “some day” to get on my to-do-list.

This is what sunrise looks like on this inland lake. It had a rickety dock on it to launch boats, which I used to my advantage as a steady base for my tripod.

In the above picture it is 6 AM, and the sun rising from the East is at my back. A mile behind the tree line in the distance is Lake Michigan, one of the five great lakes. Due to its remote nature it was rare to see anyone there, and was an ideal spot for me to try to photograph eagles.

I also spent time on this inland lake during sunset, and it was just as beautiful at that time of day. From here I could see the eagle nest, 200 yards towards the direction I am looking at, that was the object of my desire.

It was so peaceful at sunset I stayed until it got dark, and brought many people here to eat our carry-out dinners and enjoy the peace and tranquility

The sky lit up as the sun slowly set at 10 PM 

I went back with my spotting scope to see what that object was, and sure enough, it was a bald eagle. I had no idea what it was doing perched on top of the nest.  Was it using the nest as a platform to fish? Was it feeding chicks I could not see from this angle, and with such a deep nest?

That nest with something dark on the top of it. Can you see it sticking up?

The spotting scope at 30X gave me a better look. Sure looks like an eagle on it to me!

Now I had my challenge, and the story of how I got the photos I wanted will be a part of my “As The Eagle Turns” blog. It is a story of persistence, serendipity, luck, ineptness, patience, and skill- typical of most wildlife photography situations. Stay tuned.