I have never spotted a Bald Eagle in Hollerdom before so this was a most rockin, eagle-watchin, day!
I travel to Canada and Alaska to try to spot these beauties up close. Bald Eagle populations in Southern California have been decimated in the past decades from residual DDT, habitat destruction, and human persecution.
I know there are a few Bald Eagles in the area, but having never seen one here in my lifetime, today was an epic day!
This eagle is tagged with a number 83. As far as I can ascertain she may be an eagle bred in Channel Islands National Park as part of a Bald Eagle restoration study/project. I am not at all certain of this. If anyone knows the identity of this tagged eagle, and if she is from The Channel Island Project, please let me know.
The study reports Bald Eagle K83, tagged in Channel Islands National Park, was spotted in Mission Bay in 2012 which is around 75 miles from The Holler. Check out this table from the study and note eagle tagged K83:
Table 4. Status of bald eagles released or fledged from nests on Santa Catalina Island, CA prior to 2012 and seen
in 2012.
629-29499 F K-02 West End 2000 Alive, Lake Hemet, CA
629-02780 M K-10 Twin Rocks 2001 Alive, Pelican Harbor pair, Santa Cruz Is.
629-02793 F K-26 West End 2002 Alive, Pelican Harbor pair, Santa Cruz Is.
629-47371 F K-47 Seal Rocks 2004 Alive, Rattlesnake pair, Catalina Is.
629-47398 F K-56 Seal Rocks 2005 Alive, Pinnacle Rock pair, Catalina Is.
629-52425 M K-00 Pinnacle Rock 2007 Alive, Twin Rocks pair, Catalina Is.
629-52428 M K-73 West End 2007 Alive, Pinnacle Rock pair, Catalina Is.
629-52434 F K-03 Seal Rocks 2007 Alive, Lake Elizabeth, CA 3/8/12
629-52442 F K-83 Two Harbors 2008 Alive, Mission Bay, CA 3/7/12
629-52443 M K-88 Twin Rocks 2008 Alive, San Clemente Island 12/19/12
629-52446 F K-67 West End 2008 Alive, Santa Rosa Island 6/20/12
629-52449 F K-87 Two Harbors 2009 Alive, San Clemente Island 4/22/12
629-52450 F K-91 Two Harbors 2009 Alive, Catalina Island 9/12
629-03429 F K-97 West End 2009 Alive, Catalina Island 5/17/12
629-03431 F K-05 Seal Rocks 2010 Alive, Santa Cruz Island 4/20/12
629-04104 F K-15 Rattlesnake 2011 Alive, Catalina Island 9/28/12
629-04106 F K-12 West End 2011 Alive, Dillon, MT 2/18/12
Most of the eagles seemed to stay in the Channel Islands National Park as of this 2012 survey, but one was found all the way in Montana, another in Hemet which is a desert community in Central California, and K83 was seen in Mission Bay which is on the ocean in San Diego County.
I saw another Bald Eagle in the sky today, so there seems to be a pair!
I wonder what the Holler Hawks make of the Holler Eagles!
Cheers to you from the Holler Eagles and a very thrilled birdie photographer~
For a link to the study I found online, click on the link below. You will note that attempts to successfully restore Bald Eagles to Southern California has been challenging and difficult:
http://www.montroserestoration.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Montrose-bald-eagle-report-2012-final-031913.pdf
Oh cool! There are a few nesting pairs in our area but it’s rare for me to see them. They are amazing.
Amazing is right! They radiate controlled mastery.
Wonderful photos and news Cindy. I’m excited with you! I’ve only seen eagles from a distance. These close ups are fantastic and even better that they are surviving, and blessing your land. 🙂
Thank you Brad. We are such fools to have culled the populations of such magnificient creatures.
Hopefully they are recovering.
Cool! We always enjoy eagle sightings.
Lucky you! They are quite rare for me~
We live at a large lake in Oklahoma in a migration fly way so we see lots of different birds. I don’t have the right kind of lens for my camera to get really good bird photos, but we have some priceless memories.
Oh it sounds magnificent! I would love to see this. Your memories are more important then photographs. ❤
What fantastic looking birds they are. I’m glad something is bring done to protect them.
Yes I am too, our national bird could have well been driven to extinction by our carelessness~
This one is beautiful, great photos Cindy.
Thank you very much, it was such a thrilling experience to have her let me get this close!
Breathtaking shots!
Thanks Nick! She is one big birdie!
But still so graceful! I wouldn’t dare to annoy it…
Neither would I. I would not like to deal with an annoyed Bald Eagle! 😉
Great shots and interesting to be able to see where this eagle has landed!
She certainly surprised me! Best surprise I have had in a long time.
They are beautiful and regal. A beautiful sight!
Indeed, and it seem they know this! 😉
These are such magnificent birds! We have a bald eagle colony at Jordan Lake, about 20 miles from where I live, There is an observation point from which you can watch them – they are very protected – but the spot is overrun with enthusiastic birders! Great close-ups!
How wonderful! A colony would be incredible to see. I do not want to give any specifics on where this eagle is for just this reason. I don’t want her to be spooked away by people.
I imagine the Holler Hawks don’t like the extra competition. But hey … congrats on the first-time sighting! Great captures!
Thank you, and you’re right about the hawks. They challenge everything in the sky out here including kites, balloons and drones, but challenge eagles? No way! 😉
A W E S O M E!!! My husband has a neglected blog in which he has a photo of an eagle that he took when we lived on the river. The photo was taken from our balcony.
https://natureporthole.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/the-eagle-has-landed/
❤ carmen
Oh gorgeous! How lucky you two are to have had them so close~
Cindy, you are always so amazing with the beauties you capture! Love it!
She is quite the regal lady isn’t she Wendell. Hope all is well with you my friend~
What gorgeous shots of a magnificent creature. What lens were you using to get such wonderful close-ups?
I was using my SonyHX400 which has an adjustable up to 1200mm equivalent lens, but I was not at full zoom, except for the middle photo which ironically may be the best (most focused).
Interesting. With a tripod too? Right after I read your post I saw that 5 eagles had been spotted in the area you mentioned.
Really? How fabulous. Where did you hear this? And no, no tripod. I had to move towards the eagle slowly. Tripods hang me up too much.
Wow Cindy!! You must have persistence to be able to find a beauty like this. So majestic. I took the grand-girls to the zoo and we were fairly close to a bald eagle and it’s nest. We couldn’t believe how large it was. Thanks for your vivid pictures!!
When you get close to a Bald Eagle you get this sense of contained power and mass. They are big, powerful birds. Magnificent creatures. So glad you saw them up close Rhonda~
Your pictures made them look especially regal Cindy.
I am honored. Thank you & cheers too~
What a great capture Cindy! How exciting 💛
Thank you, it was a pretty great day!
incredible photography!
Thank you so much & cheers to you!
Cheers! Have a lovely weekend
Visa versa 2U!
Bald eagle, wow, we have in India, a specie of kite, dwelling upon western coasts of India for sea food being its favourite, its called, brahminy kite
Yes, we have kites too. Beautiful birds and wonderful fliers, so fun to watch! Thanks for stopping by & I love your blog~
Have to wonder why people keep calling them “bald” ??? They’ve got feathers on their heads. I’M GETTIN’ BALD !!! Great pic’s though. 😉 Hugs
Same as Mt. Baldy, used to mean white, but I agree the name doesn’t fit such a majestic creature. ❤
Awesome possum! The only thing that Hitch failed to do here was to model the hats, which is truly a shame. He may have lacked the, errrrrr, sexual confidence for that. He certainly does explain, with good reason, why the birds in his movie were so p.o’d with people. I watched every one of these shows several times as a kid. They are SO AWESOME! And “The Birds” was true brilliance! It really gave ravens a bad name, but Poe did that too!
Loved this!! Thank you!
Oh Cindi thiese are all so beautiful.. The Birds.. hehe.. never saw the movie..was that the one.. good old Hitchcock.. he was something else..love your images
Hitch was a genius with quite a sense of humor wasn’t he! Loved all his movies and his tv shows. This was such a classic. I wanted to BE Tippi Hedren!
Reblogged this on and commented:
Wonderful Cindi.. gee all those beautiful comments.. great work..
hugs
Sherri
Hugs, gratitude and blessings back to you Sherri~ ❤
Excellent shots Cindy! You have to love Eagles!
I truely do, and now we have a nesting pair. This is huge for this area!
Such strong and impressive birds!
Yes, they are majestic creatures!
Beautiful eagle protraits. I remember the excitement I felt the first time I saw an eagle near our home on the Chesapeake Bay. I’ll never forget it. And, your captured such beautiful images!
And just the same excitement I bet. We now have a definite pair who I am sighting regularly.
That eagle looks mighty powerful…and majestic!
Yes, I agree, on both counts!
Eagle my heart ❤
Then we share hearts. >3
❤
Love this resource!
Thank you and I am sorry I did not see your comment!
Big Smiles! Thanks sweet Cindy! 👍👍
❤
Cindy, Great photos. I grew up on a farm in Virginia where we had resident eagles. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by them–and seeing them was always an event. One question: how were you able to determine the identification number.
Merlinjr01 / Renaissance Musings
Eagles are just incredibly thrilling to see, so I fully understand your feelings. I enlarged the photos, saw the number, and googled tagged eagles, and the whole amazing mystery unfolded, including where this eagle hatched and the program that enabled him to live and thrive!
Majestic, thank you.
Thank you for such kind appreciation.