Jan. 13, 2013 - Eagles, Swans, Pelicans

At the end of November, I met fellow photographer Alan Stankevitz in Brownsville, MN, in the far southeast corner of the state. He showed me some places to photograph Bald Eagles that gather along the Mississippi River during winter. Here’s one of the adult eagles soaring against a beautiful blue sky.

EagleBaldflightBrownsville20121127

There were also many juvenile eagles in the area. It takes five years for a Bald Eagle to get full adult plumage (brown body, white head and tail.) By looking at the photos in my guide books, I would guess this one is about three years old. Look at the back edge of each wing, about in the middle, and you’ll see three feathers that are longer than the rest. These feathers are completely brown so I would guess they are adult feathers that have recently grown in. Over the next two years the rest of the wing feathers, a few at a time, will be replaced as well.

EagleBaldjuvenileflightBrownsville20121127

Here’s a mixed group of adult and immature eagles resting on the ice. I counted 19 birds in this photo.

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During the time we were photographing, we saw several “chase scenes” between eagles. The one at the top of the photo had some food and the other one was trying to get it.

EagleBaldflightchaseBrownsville20121127vertical

Here’s another shot of the altercation.

EagleBaldflightchaseBrownsville20121127

We also saw a flock of White Pelicans. Many of them nest in Minnesota but these birds are probably following the river south for the winter.

PelicanAmericanWhiteflightBrownsville20121127

During the fall, thousands of Tundra Swans gather in the Brownsville area as a stopover spot during migration. Many had moved on but there were still a large number of them on the river. The two swans with the dark beaks are adults and the other two are juveniles.

SwanTundraflightgroupBrownsville20121127