On Trail With Nibi Mocs

During February, I made 2 trips over to the Mississippi River, with the primary intent to photograph American Bald Eagles.

On February 11, I headed over to Colvill Park in Red Wing, MN where I had a lot of success the past two years. For a reason I haven’t been able to fathom, eagles were scarce there on this particular day. Those that were around were either too far away or flying too high for my 400mm lens to reach them. I finally gave up and headed south along the river. South of Lake City, I pulled into an overlook. I saw several eagles in trees close to the overlook but didn’t have a clear shot of any of them. They gradually flew away and I was able to capture this image of one flying straight away from me.

After watching for awhile, I headed further south and stopped in at Reed’s Landing. As expected, I saw quite a few eagles there. Also as expected, they were impossible to photograph. I did see, and capture, a fly-by of some trumpeter swans.

Somewhat disappointed with my results, I headed home.

Today, February 25, I headed over to Colvill Park again. Again, the eagles were scarce and far away. It seemed even worse than the previous trip. Desperate to photograph something… anything… I noticed the patterns and textures on the ice…

A common merganser swam moderately close, giving me another subject.

Again, any eagles I saw flying were really beyond the reach of my lens.

Then, it was back to patterns and textures in the ice again.

I did have a nice conversation with Luis from Honduras who has been staying in Red Wing for about 15 months.

Then, the waxing moon rose, providing me another, high-flying subject.

Finally, an adult eagle flew low enough to be in range.

Following right behind was a juvenile, flying even lower.

The show was short lived. The two eagles flew away and no others showed up. With the light fading rapidly, I packed up and headed for home.