RE: The Birds at Conowingo Dam in March: Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, and Seagulls

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RE: The Birds at Conowingo Dam in March: Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, and Seagulls

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chriddi (75)in American Steem • 5 days ago

These bald eagles are really impressive! Too bad you “picked” such a foggy day for the outing. Or maybe it worked out perfectly — otherwise you wouldn’t have had the bridge all to yourselves… 😉

Near our pasture there’s a white-tailed eagle nest. Every now and then “the big guy” circles over the pasture. It’s always a great sight.

Our village lies on at a river (here it’s very narrow — at most you can paddle it by canoe — but closer to the mouth it becomes a proper shipping route). On the meadows along the banks there are often hundreds of gray herons (and a few great egrets). I’ve never photographed them. It’s strange how we often don’t consider the “everyday” things photogenic.

The cranes, which have only been spending the summer here for the past three or four years, are much more spectacular. A real natural spectacle. And they’re loud!

Unfortunately, the farmers regularly scare the cranes away by firing shots. The birds are protected and aren’t allowed to be shot. But scaring them is permitted… 😔

5 days ago in American Steem by chriddi (75)

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remlaps (76)mod 5 days ago

Or maybe it worked out perfectly — otherwise you wouldn’t have had the bridge all to yourselves…

That's a good point, and you're probably right. Being able to get to the pier made a big difference in how well we we were able to see beyond the island.

On the meadows along the banks there are often hundreds of gray herons (and a few great egrets). I’ve never photographed them. It’s strange how we often don’t consider the “everyday” things photogenic.

Right, I got a sense of that with my White-Tailed Deer photos, too. With a worldwide platform like Steem, what's commonplace to people from one location is exotic to others. Now you have a homework assignment.;-)

For me, the Bald Eagle is a special case. They were almost extinct when I was a kid, but they have made a strong recovery. (From 3 breeding pairs in the entire state of Pennsylvania during the 1980s to more than 400 pairs now.) So, even though they are becoming more common again, they still feel exotic. I had never actually seen one in the wild before last November's visit to the dam.

I looked up some photos of the White-Tailed Eagle, and they look somewhat similar to the Bald Eagle. I even saw some pictures with white heads (though not as white as the tails). Interesting how the white tail feathers evolved on both sides of the Atlantic. I wonder what purpose they serve.

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