February 22, 2011- At 10:30 am I looked out my back door and was surprised to see this American Bald Eagle in a tree on the lake side of the house. I have seen them in the area before, but only high in the sky. Then, I could see the dark body and white head and knew it could be nothing other than an eagle. But I've not seen one this close before, not around here. This is Kansas after all, and not the first State you'd think of to be eagle habitat. I ran about the house to gather up a zoom lens and camera and hoped he would still be there while I got it all together. He was.
Afraid that he'd get spooked and fly away, I took a few pics from the porch. He stayed put, so I slowly walked to the edge of my yard and manuevered to a spot where I could shoot cleanly through the branches. I was probably about 50 yards away at this point.
He is watching me intently... and has been ever since I walked out the door.
I took a bunch of pictures of him sitting there and then...
he decides its time to move on, and he launches...
...his thrust causes the branch he was sitting on to break into pieces and fall to the ground.
He is off and
airborne...
..away over Gardner Lake.
Photos on this page taken on February 22, 2011 in Gardner Kansas USA. Gardner KS is located just to the southwest of Kansas City.
Written on Thursday, February 24 2011 18:49 by Rick Poppitz
