View allAll Photos Tagged Conowingo
Ever since I got interested in bird photography three years ago it seems like everyone I talked to about Bald Eagles inevitably asked "Have you been to Conowingo Dam?" My answer has always been "not yet." That changed on 31 October 2018, and now I see why everyone asked that question. In late autumn and winter Conowingo Dam commonly plays host to a large congregation of Bald Eagles, sometimes more than 100. The day I was there (a weekday) there were more photographers than eagles, and I'm sure that is often the case (I cannot imagine how many go there to see the eagles on a weekend). And though it was supposedly a "slow day," it was still spectacular. I'd estimate there were between 25 - 40 eagles there that day.
Multiple spillway gates on the far side of the dam were opened during my visit, that kept several rock outcrops where eagles often perch inundated, and also lured most of the eagles very far away from where photographers have access. There were only 3-4 times when an eagle made a hunting pass on the near side of the dam, so most of my shots were more of a scenic nature than close-up action. The cascading water and spray from the spillway did provide a dramatic background for those distant shots. FYI, the dam is 94-ft tall and almost 4,700 feet long.
I did manage a pretty good result for one of the hunting passes; this series begins with the Bald Eagle heading right toward my position with its target identified.
Note: Photo - 5 in this series was EXPLORED on 19 Nov 2018
You can see the eagle stole the fish from other one, but it dropped the fish after another one try to steal the fish from it. Because that happened little bit far away for my camera/lens so that I didn't take the picture.