BALD EAGLE!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

I try not to leave the house without my camera and I can't tell you how many times that has made ALL the difference in my day and here at Pure Florida.

Yesterday, after doing almost all of my Christmas shopping online, I was missing some of the hustle and bustle that used to drive me crazy ... before online shopping.
Maybe I should actually "GO" shopping.

So, with the pressure off, I cleaned up and set out for Gainesville to join the herds.

I didn't think there would be time to do any critter photography, but I brought the camera anyway.
As it turns out, Miss Sara N. Dippity was riding along with me as I pulled out of our driveway.

Not more than a half-mile from drive, three bald eagles were working on a dead hog.
It's common this time of year for hog and deer hunters to leave a stripped carcass along the wooded roadsides out here on the frontier.

As I approached, all but one of the eagles flew off.

I slowed, reminded myself that this one would fly too, ... probably as soon as I turned on my camera.

I turned it on anyway.
In the seat next to me, Sara smiled sweetly.
Was it pity?

I pulled over across and down from the eagle. Better a cropped, zoomed, through the windshield shot than nothing at all.

The eagle seemed much more concerned about his dead hog meal than me, so I unzipped the JEEP window and poked the lens out.

Still there.

I shot a bunch, then decided to move closer.
When the JEEP rumbled to life again, I just KNEW that eagle would take flight.

Nope.
Still there.

Three times I moved the JEEP, ... each time, getting a little bit closer with a little bit better light angle.

The eagle kept an eye on me, but continued his pulled pork dinner.



I shot 124 photos, and a handful of video clips, including the one below.

Now, I'm not going to throw a hundred shots up here and run y'all off, so I think we'll save some of the close-up feeding action shots for another post.

I was pretty stoked after the encounter.