Bald Eagles

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 9:04 pm

For the past week there have been several bald eagles visiting Carter Lake. It seems the best vantagepoint is the parking lot area immediately opposite the airport terminal.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:34 am

The bald eagles move through this area in January every year, although this seems earlier than usual. There's usually a pretty good number at Lake Manawa as well.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 9:42 pm

Tuna wasn't kidding... my wife and I estimated there were at least 2 -dozen- bald eagles (appeared to be a couple of other eagles of a different variety or vultures of some kind present as well) across Carter Lake opposite the airport. Unfortunately it was getting dark before we happened onto the scene, and none were well placed for a closeup photo. I got these four sitting together from a distance (with the 500mm lense). I'm definitely going back for another look. I should mention we first went to Manawa... and did manage to see a pair there as well... but right now I think you'll want to go to Carter Lake if you want to see them almost everywhere you look.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 10:33 pm

Wow, that's incredible!

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:41 am

Awesome.

omaproud · Post by **omaproud** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:36 pm

OK, I had to drop my brother off at Eppley they other day and decided to drive through Levi Carter park to see these purported bald eagles. They WERE THERE en masse( I saw at least 20), and many were perched wonderfully close to the road, providing easy, breath-taking photo opps in the leafless trees. If you are a nature photographer of any ilk I think you are really missing out if you don't get there soon. (And then you must post them, of course.)

Post by **Brad** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:49 pm

What is the best time of day?

omaproud · Post by **omaproud** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:03 pm

I think they are there all day. They are even often quite visible from Abbott before you pull into the airport coming from downtown. Ya can't miss em!

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:29 pm

I happened to be driving by again (without my camera)... I noticed they are also perching on logs in the middle of the lake which have become exposed with the lowering lake level (wow... another subject entirely! Will Carter Lake come back to it's previous levels?? It is REALLY getting low)

Post by **Brad** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:51 pm

jhuston wrote:I happened to be driving by again (without my camera)... I noticed they are also perching on logs in the middle of the lake which have become exposed with the lowering lake level (wow... another subject entirely! Will Carter Lake come back to it's previous levels?? It is REALLY getting low)

I heard the the pump that pumps water in from the river is all silted in and the 2 states are fighting over who is responsiable for fixing it. Apparently they have not been able to pump water for the past 2 summers. I know two years ago, the boat we were in got stuck about 100 yards from the ski jump right in the middle of the lake. I can stand on the bottom in the middle by the airport in some places.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:34 pm

Wait, if this is Nebraska's responsibility, then I think we should sue Iowa for possesion of Carter Lake.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:00 am

I believe responsibility is split 60/40 (NE/IA) based on lake area on each state. One thing that's hurt the water levels is that runoff from the airport used to be drained to the lake and now is not (largely because of water quality going into the lake). I heard some in Carter Lake are trying to amass the funds to do a study on lake levels and water quality.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:57 pm

I need a much bigger lense

2/8/2006

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:54 am

I went down and got a few shot today, but damn its cold out with that wind. Everyone should go check this out, with camera or not, crazy numbers of eagles around the lake.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:59 am

All of the pictures here are terriffic!..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:38 pm

wags that last one is beautiful!

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:51 pm

You all talked me into it! Saturday morning I'll head down with my ever so short 70-200F4L and see what I can get for pictures.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:06 pm

Chris is going to use a 200mm
I used a 55
Wags and Jeff What did you two use.

I need to buy another lense, but I just spent all my money on the camera so it might be the summer before that happens.

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:50 pm

I had the big dog 70-300mm one on for both of those. I know you have a Canon Brad but my 70-300 for my Nikon was right around $200 so I'd guess you could find something similar for Canons if you can swing that. I belive Jeff was using a 500mm.

P.S. Thanks Jake!

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:57 pm

I spent $600 for my F4L, but I will be selling that lens to purchase my $1200 F2.8L and another $279 for the 2X teleconverter. (On a 1.6X cropped camera that is a little over 600mm in zoom.)

While I'm on the subject, any Cannon shooter looking to buy a 70-200mmF4L or a sigma 15-30EX? I'm in the process of upgrading all of my lenses.

The Sigma is great for landscapes and architechture, but the focus is too slow for my needs and too loud for a church setting (hence, I have to manually focus that lens during weddings.)

What 500mm lens are you using Jeff?

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:55 pm

bradley414 wrote:While I'm on the subject, any Cannon shooter looking to buy a 70-200mmF4L or a sigma 15-30EX? I'm in the process of upgrading all of my lenses.

I'm just casually browsing, not a serious buyer but PM the price of the 70-200.

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:06 pm

I went back down to Carter Lake today and freaked on how many there were on the SE part by Abbott Drive.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:25 pm

Being that close and frequent aren’t they a flight risk to the traffic at the airport?

Post by **Brad** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 4:00 pm

Chris, are you still going tomorrow?

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:26 pm

I don't think so. I wanted to go this morning, but not in the snow. I have to help my brother move tomorrow.

Post by **Brad** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:38 pm

wags, what part of the lake where you on. I was down there about 5 pm and there were never more than one per tree, although I still did see a ton of them.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:48 pm

Latest attempt (it was colder than heck with all the wind blowing this AM!)

These are clickable thumbnails...

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:54 pm

Caught some great action in there!

Post by **Brad** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:04 am

Bald Eagle Closer to Coming Off Endangered List

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bald_eagle

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The proud symbol of a nation for more than two centuries, the iconic and elegant American bald eagle also is emblematic of a snail-paced federal bureaucracy.

Seven years after the government said the fierce raptor is no longer threatened with extinction, officials finally have a plan for removing it from the endangered species list.

"Partly it just fell through the cracks," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife, who proposed delisting the bird in 1999 while she was President Clinton's Fish and Wildlife Service director.

The process has taken far longer than the typical year, partly because updated counts are required from each of the states, and some of those have rules that add red tape.

Clark called the bald eagle "a success story" for the embattled Endangered Species Act, which Republicans in Congress and the Bush administration have been pushing to reshape so that more responsibility is given to private landowners instead of the federal government.

"Across the range, you can't deny the incredible success of the return of the bald eagle," she said. "A lot of attention, energy and money was put into its recovery."

The bird has battled back from the threat of extinction because of habitat loss and the pesticide DDT.

The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service issued draft voluntary guidelines spelling out how landowners, land managers and others should protect the bird once the 1973 law no longer safeguards it.

It also proposed prohibitions on "disturbing" the bald eagle, which could include anything that would disrupt its breeding, feeding or sheltering or cause injury, death or nest abandonment.

Officials said Monday's action could lead to the bald eagle coming off the endangered species list within the next year or so.

"Should the eagle be delisted, we expect that the public will notice little change in how eagles are managed and protected," said H. Dale Hall, the Fish and Wildlife Service's director.

Hall said at least 7,066 known nesting pairs now exist in the contiguous United States. The bald eagle's territory stretches over much of the North American continent. Tens of thousands more live in Alaska and Canada, where their existence never was imperiled.

However, 43 years ago, there were just 417 known nesting pairs left in the lower 48 states, mainly because of the widespread use of DDT and other pesticides that weakened the bald eagle's eggshells and reduced its birth rate. The brown-bodied bird with the distinctive white head and tail also suffered from lead poisoning ? eating waterfowl pierced by a hunter's lead shot.

In 1967, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act, the bald eagle was declared an endangered species in the lower 48. In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT for most uses.

Fish and Wildlife officials in 1978 listed the bald eagle as endangered in 43 states and threatened in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. The government hatched detailed recovery plans, with specific population and reproduction goals. Sometimes eggs were imported from Canada and installed at artificial eyries.

By 1995, the species had rebounded enough to be reclassified as threatened throughout the lower 48.

If and when the bald eagle is removed from the endangered list, two other laws will continue to protect it: the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the 1940 Bald Eagle Protection Act, later revised to include the golden eagle. But those don't address habitat.

David Smith, the Interior Department's deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife, said the agency wouldn't hesitate to act "if at any time in the future it becomes evident that the eagle needs relisting for protections."

I posted the entire areticle because its not a local media outlet.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:10 am

More great pics guys..

And thanks for posting that article Brad!..Some good info..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

OmahaTheGreat · Post by **OmahaTheGreat** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:32 pm

Great post, whenever I'm driving down I-80 in my rental car going to Colorado and I see a bald eagle, I about crash. I always see a god number of them between Grand Island and Lexington. I saw one in late December sitting in a tree right next to the freeway about 10 miles west of Kearney--It was awesome.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:35 am

Not the Bald Eagle, but another great American Bird.... The Turkey

Post by **Brad** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:51 pm

Sunday 2/26/2006

I saw about 30 today.

mom04 · Post by **mom04** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:08 pm

The Bald Eagles are back at Carter Lake, if you are interested in seeing them. My kids and I went today and saw about a dozen or more.

Post by **Brad** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:10 pm

mom04 wrote:The Bald Eagles are back at Carter Lake, if you are interested in seeing them. My kids and I went today and saw about a dozen or more.

Kick A$$..... Finally, I have checked a few time with no luck. I guess its 3 days of photo shooting in a row!

mom04 · Post by **mom04** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:14 pm

we saw most of them in the main drag of the levi carter park. they were everywhere! last year we saw more around the small park area across from the airport, where the small island is, near the boys and girls club camp. we took a few pictures but they were flying so fast, it was harder to capture clear focused pictures.

Jet915 · Post by **Jet915** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:31 pm

Bald eagles around at this time of the year? I need to go check this out w/my new Sigma "Bigma" 50-500 mm today.[/i][/b]

Post by **Brad** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:34 pm

Jet915 wrote:Bald eagles around at this time of the year? I need to go check this out w/my new Sigma "Bigma" 50-500 mm today.[/i][/b]

About the time the Ice starts to melt off the lake.