Jordan Lake

B. Everett Jordan Lake is a reservoir in New Hope Valley, west of Cary and south of Durham in Chatham County, North Carolina, in the United States; the northernmost end of the lake extends into southwestern Durham County.

Part of the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area,^[1] the reservoir covers 13,940 acres (5,640 ha) with a shoreline of 180 miles (290 km) at its standard water level of 216 feet (66 m) above sea level. It was developed as part of a flood control project prompted by a particularly damaging tropical storm that hit the region downstream in September 1945. Constructed at an original cost of US $146,300,000, it is owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which dammed and flooded the Haw River and New Hope River between 1973 and 1983.

Courtesy – Wikipedia

Bald Eagles

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.

Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, “white headed”. The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. government‘s list of endangered species on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the contiguous states on June 28, 2007.

Courtesy – Wikipedia

TheTrip

One of the photography related meetup group that I’m part of scheduled a trip to the Jordan Dam area to photograph the bald eagles.  After missing the group trip due to other commitments, I made a trip to the area the very next day which was bright and sunny.

The dam area itself offers a good viewpoint for any bird watcher with many different species of birds competing for their meal.  As for the eagles, though you could spot them perched in the trees, I had to take the trail through the wooded area ( 1 person trail ) to see them closer with my 150-600mm lens ( zoomed at 600mm).

The trail was slippery in places and was close to the water released from the dam ( flowing as a good pace) and was about 15 feet in at some places.

Having not much luck in spotting the eagles ( except for one ), I chose to return to the area 3 days later – warm but an overcast day with some drizzling.

With no human scent in the area,  many of our “bald” friends marked their attedance and even with some closeup views.

They’re very averse to the presence of humans and even a small ruffling sound sets them off from the branches.

Tips

Carry a binocular
If you want good shots of the Eagle, suggest you have a 500+mm zoom lens
Mirror less Camera is highly recommended to catch birds in action