Snowy Owls + Bald Eagles

[ThirdgenTa]

For the last few weeks I have been going out with the girlfriend and photographing birds of prey, including Bald Eagles, Hawks and Snowy Owls.
Snowy Owls are super rare down here. There are only about 4 in Illinois that are known and some in Wisconsin. Otherwise they are closer to the arctic circle.












Another one came out of nowhere and they were fighting for territory.

Click to read more...

 

[Chester Copperpot]

You smell that?

Freedom.

 

[Mook]

Are they all in your backyard??? The fuck. Talk about a fucking find. Thats awesome.

 

[EmersonHart13]

My wife wants a pet hawk. I'm sending her over.

 

[ThirdgenTa]

Are they all in your backyard??? The fuck. Talk about a fucking find. Thats awesome.

Lol... These weren't. Although there are some bald eagles here and there along the Fox river. Seen a few in Oswego and saw a juvenile as we were leaving st charles to head over to the Locks and Dam by Iowa. The snowy owls are within an hour drive. There are always birders looking for them and reporting them. It's fun to watch them hunt and catch fish and the owls and hawks catch rodents.

 

[ThirdgenTa]

My girlfriend also has a friend who has access to a lot of closed areas and shes made friends with a lot of the wildlife. We were able to get within 50ft of this female coyote that was hunting and then posing for pictures.

 

[ThirdgenTa]

My wife wants a pet hawk. I'm sending her over.

We find these all of the time driving. Just keep your eyes out on telephone polls and trees. She got this one while we were driving

 

[VenomousDSG]

Those are awesome birds, nice photos.

You smell that?

Freedom.

'MURICA!!!!!!

 

[99PONTIACGP]

Great photos.

 

[crooks]

I guess ohare has had snowy owl problems the last couple years. They are trapping them

 

[ThirdgenTa]

I guess ohare has had snowy owl problems the last couple years. They are trapping them

Are you kidding? Trapping them? I think there is one by midway now

 

[wolfe]

Great shots! Thanks for sharing.

 

[raresvt]

Wife and I seen a snowy owl in Beecher last year. My eagle eye spotted it on a light pole

 

[crooks]

Are you kidding? Trapping them? I think there is one by midway now

Yes animals or birds and planes full of people don't mix. I was shown a pic of one in a trap and a dead one from last year. I know they said they tag something and have to release it as far away as Diwight or it comes back that might of been eagles though. Doesn't make sense to take the owls further south.
The guys in charge of removing all the wildlife out there have a cool job. I think any animal that dies out there gets autopsied they look in the stomach and then try to remove the food source from the airport so they don't come back.

 

[raresvt]

 

[chry*bmb]

The Eagles are crazy in Montgomery!! You want to catch Eagles, you can spot them all along the Fox there too These pictures are super sweet! Thanks for posting up!!

 

[ThirdgenTa]

The Eagles are crazy in Montgomery!! You want to catch Eagles, you can spot them all along the Fox there too These pictures are super sweet! Thanks for posting up!!

Yes! I've seen them in this area along the fox. It's hard to get a shot of them catching fish though. I saw a pair of eagles fighting in the air in Oswego last week

Thanks

 

[chry*bmb]

Yes! I've seen them in this area along the fox. It's hard to get a shot of them catching fish though. I saw a pair of eagles fighting in the air in Oswego last week



Thanks

Great work my friend! I'm just lucky if I can get my big lumbering oaf of a puppy in focus [emoji6]

 

[ThirdgenTa]

Got some more killer shots of Bald Eagles this weekend. I was insanely close to them. Check out the link at the end to see more pictures.















They lock talons in the air when they fight









Link to Album
Bald Eagles Photos by ThirdenTa | Photobucket

 

[Mook]

Jesus christ man. This is some NATGEO shit right here Wow.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Those birds are free as fuck.

 

[Eagle]

Brian... awesome shots dude. Seriously. What camera rig you using to get those shots?

 

[ThirdgenTa]

Brian... awesome shots dude. Seriously. What camera rig you using to get those shots?

I'm using a d5100 with a nikkor 55-300mm lense. I'm pretty sure I had the smallest lense. At one point there were about 100 photographers there. They have 600mm lenses. They do come really close to you but I suggest having some kind of zoom lense and you need to up the iso and have at minimum a 1/1000 shutter speed so you don't get motion blur.

That one in the tree I was literally right under and he didn't care. I also have a video of him screeching

 

[ThirdgenTa]

Yeah those are all Eagles. I counted 51

 

[ChrisRac]

Great shots!!

There's a town about 4 hours south of Anchorage called Homer. Everytime I go, I see no less than 5-10 eagles. I love those birds