Hello everyone!  I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoyed the Super Bowl.  

The temperatures warmed up here in New Jersey over the past week and that seemed to push the large number of eagles in my area out.  Where I saw 15 eagles last Saturday at a local park, I only saw 3 when I returned on Wednesday.

February 7

I did have an interesting encounter though.  As I was walking down a wooded path, I didn’t realize that there was a pair of adults sitting in a tree directly overhead until I was literally directly underneath them.  

They didn’t seem to mind me and stayed put while I backed off a bit to a more respectful distance to try and get a few photos.  

One thing that I’m always very cognizant is to make sure that I’m giving the eagles their space.  My general rule of thumb is not to ever be closer than 100 yards.  I’ve had many instances, where they’ve flown much closer to me but I never want to intrude on their personal space.

I didn't see this pair until I was literally right under them

After taking my photos, I let them be and continued to search the usual spots in the park to see if any other eagles were around.  I only saw a single eagle that was perched on top of the power line tower.  The eagle was really to far away to get any decent photos.

With more warmer weather forecast for this week, I’m not expecting to see much eagle activity at the park anytime soon.

February 8

I had a brief encounter with the female, Sandy on Thursday at the pond by my house.  I was returning from another photo trip which I’ll discuss below and saw her sitting on her usual perch as I drove by.  I stopped to say a quick hello.  She only stayed on her perch for a few minutes.  I was able to snap a couple photos.  Over the past three years, I’ve literally taken 100’s of photos of John / Sandy sitting on this same branch.

Sandy sitting on her favorite perch

Photographing Seals

I want to share another photo trip that I got to do last week.  

Each winter, a large pod seals winters in Sandy Hook Bay, about an hour from my house.  I got to photograph them a few years ago and have had in my head to try again this winter.  They hang on the same rock jetty at low tide, so they were fairly easy to find.  I’m estimating that I saw 15-20 seals.

As the tide drops, they will climb onto the rocks to rest / sleep.  Some of them were more active, swimming and leaping close to the jetty.  

I was hoping to come away with a photo of one leaping in mid-air.   This was easier said than done.  When I would see one go underwater, I tried following the wake they would make it the water with my camera hoping to capture them breaking the surface and getting airborne.  I stayed for over an hour trying to capture this behavior but unfortunately, I came away empty handed.

Once they all settled onto the rocks for their afternoon nap, I called it a day and headed for home.

It was an interesting experience and I’m glad I got to do it, but honestly it wasn’t really my thing.   I think I’ll stick to the eagles!

l got this photo when the seal popped it's head up to take a look around

The seals are lounging on rocks that are just below the surface.

If you have any questions for me, please drop me a line in the comments below and I’ll get back to you straight away!

I hope everyone has a good week.  Until next time…