Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

[Copy_Kot]

These were taken today at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge in central NY. The weather/light was absolutely horrible! It was also my first time using the Canon 2X converter... I hope these didn't turn out too bad.

Couple of young bald eagles...





Some kind of hawk (probably a red-tail)...



More heron pics...





I like this one because it looks like he's conducting an orchestra

[karen m.]

They came out very nice, I liked them.

[Sushigaijin]

looks good to me, I bet a little post processing would go a long way with the gray-toned images.

Erik.

[Copy_Kot]

Thank you Karen and Erik.

[paulnj]

Great images here!

two little additions to your post though.

In image 2 you have a 3rd winter bald on top and a 1ST winter bald below. The bottom eagle looking bigger is not an illusion IT IS! Bald eagles fledge the nest larger than the parents because the great size helps them through the first winter(usually)

The apparent "hawk image" is indeed a young Bald eagle(2nd year)

[Copy_Kot]

Thanks Paul. Some guy who was watching the eagles with the rest of the group that gathered around said that it take four years for them to get the white feathers on their heads... Is that true? Can we assume that any bald eagle with white head feathers is at least four years old?

Also, that is pretty cool about the gulls in the Bird ID thread... something else I didn't know.

[paulnj]

Yes a bald eagle does get a whitish head at 4, but ADULT plumage starts at 5 and the eye color changes at 6