Penning Photography Daily

A mature Bald Eagle, swooping down over the waters of the Mississippi River, in search of prey.

It was very cold out there today. The temperatures started out in the mid-30′s Fahrenheit, with the winds at the river front gusting to in excess of 30 miles per hour. A bit chilly, indeed. The temperatures rose, but it never got anywhere near warm down by the river. In fact, when we moved to a high bluff overlooking the river from about 200 foot above the river level, it was much warmer.

My friend Dwayne and I were out there, enduring the cold and wind for an hour with no eagles in sight. Lots of gulls, but not a single eagle. The one thing that made the experience fun, was the river barge that filled the lock. It was a first for both of us to see a barge enter the lock, lower to the new river level and move out. A fascinating experience to see these lashed-together floating barges being pushed through the water by a massive tug boat.

After the first hour, we retreated to my car to thaw and warm up a bit.

During our second watch, we spotted our first eagles. A pair of them coming towards us from the far bank of the river. After that, we got more eagles out on the hunt over the river. About 8 or so total were seen that day, most of them immature, unlike this full adult, with brown heads.

Most of the eagles were soaring up high and away from us. This one, was skimming along, not 20 feet above the river, searching for fish. I never saw it dive for a catch, but it sure was majestic and stirring to see such a large and powerful bird on the hunt.

It was worth enduring the punishing winds for an up-close view of these birds.