[wisb] Eagles - Thousand Island - Kaukauna

From: thomas657@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:18:47 -0500
Instead of staying home waiting for the Super Bowl, I took a drive up to 
Thousand Island State Conservancy Area on the Fox River by Kaukauna to view 
bald eagles.  

I arrived in the middle of the afternoon, which was good for viewing eagles, 
but less than ideal for photography.  I didn't make an exact count, but there 
were easily two dozen eagles.  At one point, there were 10 in one tree alone. 

Please refer to the google map and markup I made:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445944084/in/photostream

The thick red lines show the areas where the density of eagles was greatest.  
The yellow lines showed the flight patterns of eagles in the area.  Orange "X"s 
indicate viewing areas I used. 

In the late afternoon, viewing off the Elm St. bridge (#1) was the best because 
sunlight was at my back.  There was also some activity from both sides of the 
bridge.  

From viewing area #2, which is the parking lot of the business along Thilmany 
Rd, there were quite a few eagles perched in trees across the river.  This is 
where I spotted 10 eagles in a single tree and a half dozen in an adjacent 
tree. 

About 1/2 hour before sunset, viewing area #3 became a good viewing area as 
many eagles moved to the area noted by the red line immediately across the 
river.  Several eagles also tried to hunt in the water between the trees and 
Thilmany Rd.  It was good viewing, but not great for photography since the 
hunting was being done in darker shade. 

I also checked out the south side of the river, noted by #4.  I saw a few 
eagles fly by, but relatively speaking the activity was pretty low. 

All in all, it was a good day to get out and enjoy viewing eagles.  Further out 
in the river, there were some eagles in flight together.  I managed to capture 
one lousy photo of a pair attempting to lock talons.  It seemed as though there 
was a higher density of juveniles than adults. 

I thought it was interesting to see two red-tailed hawks in flight together.  
Any other time & place it would be rather exciting, but relatively speaking 
they were ho-hum. 

Here are some photos:

Start with this one:  
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445737923/in/photostream and hit the 
[Older] button several times. 

Or view specific photos:

Tree of eagles:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445670213/in/photostream/

Juvenile in flight: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445737923/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8446820456/in/photostream/

Adult perched: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445736925/in/photostream/

Adult in flight:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8446823670/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8446822676/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8445733395/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8446819788/in/photostream/

Two adults in flight together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22836210@N03/8446822034/in/photostream/



Thanks,
Tom Wright
Wales

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[wisb] Eagles - Thousand Island - Kaukauna

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