Early bird get's the picture!

[LuiFalcon]

Hi, I am fascinated with these two Eagles, they are truly beautiful predators!! I was up and at Pembroke at 6:30AM last Sunday wanting to capture a picture or two of this Eagles, when lo and behold, she/he, accommodated my desire with 2 and half hours of some Vogue style posing!!

At one point she/he was staring straight at me, only to realize, the neighbor behind where I was shooting, had released her 2 Chihuahuas and the Eagle was smitten by their presence! yum yum!

Enjoy!

-Lou F

[NewMexiKen]

Beautiful photos, Lou! The feather detail is excellent.

Too bad your third photo does not include the rest of the undersides of the tail. The female (Jewel) has two dark streaks along the outer tail feather quills near the tip (one streak on each side. They fold under the tail when it is closed like this. If perhaps you do have a photo that includes the entire tail, you might post just to see if this detail is present or absent.

Yes, those little doggies would be a tasty snack!

Again, thanks for the pictures and welcome to the FORUM.

[LuiFalcon]

Thank you, I was actually trying to show that Jewel's Talons are serious business!, here you go!

Shake your tail feather....

[NewMexiKen]

Thanks for the additional photo, Luis. This is the best depiction of the female (Jewel)'s outer tail feather markings. This demonstrates that the pigmented area is not on the shaft (rachis) of the feathers, but rather out near the tips on the feather vanes. The pattern is symmetrical and probably represents natural pigmentation rather than staining.

The tail feathers overlap each other, with the central feathers on top of the others and the outer tail feathers at the bottom. This arrangement is common to most birds and it makes the tail more rigid when fanned out in flight. When the tail is closed as in this photo, the two outer tail feathers would be entirely visible on the underside.

The position of the shafts in this case show that the marked feather on the left (or right side of the eagle) appears to be the second from the bottom one. It is a bit difficult to say for sure, but the pigment could also be on the second to bottom feather on the opposite side. However, the ragged edges of the feathers may be letting it show through so that one or both may actually be on the third feather above the outer one.

In any event, this feature, along with the rounded and massive-looking head, long rear toe (hallux), large beak with a deep gape which extends past the center of this eagle's eyes confirms the initial impression that this is Jewel. In life her large size is also apparent, especially if the male (Pride) is there for comparison.

The quality of your photo is impressive. Is it a full-frame camera? Did you use a tripod? Big lens? Can you tell I am envious?

[LuiFalcon]

Hi, I took appox 640 pictures just like these of Jewel, then suddenly the partner showed up, and I got pictures of him/her too.

I have an amazing Nikon D7100
I used my favorite Tamron 70-300 f4 zoom, hand held for most of the pic's, when I felt satisfied, I grabbed my tripod.
I recently purchased a Carl Zeiss 200mm f2.8 made in Germany, that I am dying to use, that will be next week!

Thanks for the kind words.

-Lou

[LuisEagles]

Congratulations Luis your pictures are GREAT!!!. Glad to see you coming to Pembroke Pines and trying your new lens, sure looks like is working for you. I'll see you around.