Montana Raptors: My wife and I just returned from over a month in SW Montana. The primary object originally was trout fishing, but low water and warm days resulted relatively poor...

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Montana Raptors

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Aug 16, 2015 21:25:53 #

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

My wife and I just returned from over a month in SW Montana. The primary object originally was trout fishing, but low water and warm days resulted relatively poor fishing so a lot of our time spent chasing birds. There are lots of opportunities for Raptors, shore birds, Sand Hill Cranes and more and I would like to share some of my favorite shots. In this post, I will focus on Raptors. All of these photos were taken with a Canon 7DII in combo with a Canon 400MM DoII. Some with simply the lens, most with a 1.4x iii converter, and the bald eagle with a 2X converter, tripod mounted. Other than the Bald eagle, most were hand held. Some of these probably should have been posted under the BIF section, but in that some are perching birds I chose to post them here.

I hope you looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking the photos.

Juvenal Red Tail

(Download)

Juvenal Red Tail, I think

(Download)

Great Horned Owl

(Download)

Golden Eagle

(Download)

Bald Eagle

(Download)

Juvenal Red Tail

(Download)

Aug 16, 2015 21:30:59 #

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Excellent photos Nalu.

Aug 16, 2015 21:43:19 #

MontanaTrace

These are excellent. You sure got a lot of good sightings.

Aug 16, 2015 21:45:33 #

dugole Loc: Matawan, New Jersey

Superior photos. The pic with the Bald Eagle using the 2x turned out really better than I would expect. Was the 2x a MK III?

Great job!

Aug 16, 2015 21:45:41 #

Sharon from CDA Loc: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

Nalu wrote:

My wife and I just returned from over a month in S... (show quote)

Absolutely stunning shots, Nalu!! Extremely enjoyable viewing :) I'm wondering if the eagle in flight is a juvenile bald eagle (the speckled wings and tail)? I am by no means an expert but we have a lot of bald eagles in this area...

Aug 16, 2015 21:55:43 #

BamaTexan Loc: Deep in the heart of Texas

Excellent series! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Aug 16, 2015 22:04:43 #

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

Sharon from CDA wrote:

You may be right. We say two of them in relatively close proximity to a Bald eagle nest, however this bird was really big, I mean really big.

Aug 16, 2015 22:05:29 #

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

dugole wrote:

Superior photos. The pic with the Bald Eagle using the 2x turned out really better than I would expect. Was the 2x a MK III?

Great job!

Yes.

Aug 16, 2015 22:13:13 #

Sharon from CDA Loc: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

Nalu wrote:

You may be right. We say two of them in relatively close proximity to a Bald eagle nest, however this bird was really big, I mean really big.

By the time they fledge they are as big as the adults - they won't develop the white head and tail until they are four to five years old. It is interesting to see the stages, some get really speckled before they have the adult coloring :) Again, congratulations on those beautiful shots!

Aug 16, 2015 22:42:02 #

cmc65

Nalu wrote:

My wife and I just returned from over a month in S... (show quote)

You have done a wonderful job capturing these magnificent birds.

Aug 17, 2015 07:27:01 #

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Fantastic series! I really enjoyed these.

I agree with the first-year juvenile bald eagle ID. Here is some golden eagle info:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden_Eagle/id

On page 2 of the below is a chart re bald eagles. They go through several changes before maturity. One winter I got to see three distinct "looks" (ages)!

http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/articles/Identifying_the_Sub-Adult_B.pdf

Aug 17, 2015 08:00:33 #

YoungEsqr Loc: Minnesota

Wow and thanks for sharing.

Aug 17, 2015 10:56:24 #