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Where to Photograph Golden Eagles? (1 Viewer)

R

rdrobinson

Member
Hi there,

I am looking to photograph golden eagles - would Scotland be the best place to do this in Europe? If so I would be incredibly grateful if anyone could please inform me when and where might be the best spots might be and the likelihood of finding them are (and how close I might be able to get).

Alternatively, I will be in North America next spring - might I have better luck in Alaska or another location in the US (or anywhere else worldwide)?

Many thanks!
 
I think you should start by reading the Wildlife and Countryside Act, with special reference to Schedule 1 Birds, the protection afforded to them, the offences applicable to disturbing them and the penalties that can be inflicted by the courts.

Your safest bet for photographing one is the male in the Lake District, which has no mate and doesn't therefore breed, and whose territory is surrounded by regularly trodden public access paths. Even then you should stick to the paths and on no account attempt to approach the bird.

John
 
Maybe Mull, but Scotland would be one of the more challenging locations. There are various places in Finland, Norway, Bulgaria and others that have hides setup for them. But it seems they never lose their skittiness; so no entering or leaving the hide between dawn or dusk, and strict rules against moving your lens about when the birds are present.

http://finnature.com/birds/bird-photography/golden-eagle-photography-in-oulu/
http://finnature.com/articles/how-to-photograph-wild-golden-eagles/

I reckon the US is more likely to present a 'casual' opportunity, with less timid birds*. For example, here is a 'stumbled across' bird in Yellowstone photographed by somebody who is clearly not a wildlife photographer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiliangliu/9361813565/

* Also true for Osprey. Scotland = hundreds of metres away down a telecope. Everglades = sat on a telegraph pole in the car park.
 
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Birdsafarisweden have an eagle hide and feeding station (or at least they have links to one) which regularly gets Golden and White-tailed Eagles, but of course you have to arrange in advance through the correct channels, and I assume it's not cheap after transport is factored in. Some of the photos I've seen are pretty spectacular though - enough that I would consider booking myself in the future.
 
Thanks very much for the responses.

Unfortunately I would have to pan/tilt with the bird's flight so it looks like the hide option may be out of the question.

I presume production companies producing content for the BBC would have to locate (and be granted licenses to access) certain sites in order to get incredible footage like this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Golden_Eagle#p003k0my

I would ideally like to get shots similar to the clip below (in terms of the framing - the different species notwithstanding!). FYI I own a 70-200mm lens (with 2x extender) but can rent larger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7bVxLCu0fg.

My research seems to indicate that the golden eagles in Scotland tend to be quite distant (typically a mile away at a minimum?).

If anyone could please clarify/approximate the typical distances and frequency with which I might see the birds in flight during a 3-5 day visit to a site in the UK such as Mull (or another recommended location, perhaps in the USA) I would be incredibly grateful.
 
rdrobinson said:
I presume production companies producing content for the BBC would have to locate (and be granted licenses to access) certain sites in order to get incredible footage like this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Golden_Eagle#p003k0my
Click to expand...
I don't think there is anything special about that location. It's just a dead deer somewhere in the known home-range of an eagle. They'd have needed the land-owners permission but not a Schedule 1 licence (I'm not a lawyer, but likely to be miles away any nest site and clearly not the breeding season.).

The real issue is time; the BBC probably had to pay somebody to sit around for weeks waiting for the dead deer to get the attention of a passing eagle. If they were lucky, it was a remote camera setup and they got to sit somewhere warm!
 
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Telephoto Paul said:
I don't think there is anything special about that location. It's just a dead deer somewhere in the known home-range of an eagle. They'd have needed the land-owners permission but not a Schedule 1 licence (I'm not a lawyer, but likely to be miles away any nest site and clearly not the breeding season.).

The real issue is time; the BBC probably had to pay somebody to sit around for weeks waiting for the dead deer to get the attention of a passing eagle. If they were lucky, it was a remote camera setup and they got to sit somewhere warm!
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul, good point.

I'm actually willing to stake out a location for as much several weeks if that's a necessity.

I'm having trouble finding info on the typical viewing distances at Mull and other locations (outside of views typically being "very distant"). Any thoughts would be incredibly helpful.

So it looks like the best options for photographing golden eagles are:

1. Find a carcass in wild eagle territory (which may require permission depending on location) and stake it out for weeks
2. Photograph from a designated viewpoint on Mull/Haweswater/somewhere in the US; almost certainly with an expensive and incredibly long lens due to the distance (I can only imagine the problems with stability this might create)
3. Photograph from a hide without being able to move the lens

If I have anything wrong or there are any better solutions I would be very grateful to hear!
 
I think #3 applies to #1 too; if they don't become habituated to movement at a regular feeding station, they'll be off light lightning at random carrion. It seems to be a fact of life that Old World GEs are skittish.

By comparison, I think you'll have more luck of a close enounter in the US. If you follow that flickr link above, they managed a near full-frame photo at only 280mm of a 400mm zoom (and they look like a couple who parked a car and got out, not hours/days in a hide as part of a carefully planned project)
 
To be honest in Scotland a lot of luck is involved to get in range for a decent shot and of course doing this in the breeding season you would not be able to attempt it anywhere near a nest site. However there are still plenty of places where Eagles fly regular hunting routes and I've seen some pretty good photos taken of birds with a bit of patience.
 
I don't do stakeouts as a rule.

1. Lake District

2. Scotland just driving around randomly (from the road)

NB: I'm NOT saying this is easy.

John
 

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Marcus Conway - ebirder said:
There is a Golden Eagle photography hide in Scotland operated by Glen Tanar

http://www.glentanar.co.uk/wildlife-watch.html

I seriously wouldn't waste your time on your own set up.

Most of the BBC footage shows a captive bird. It is staged.
Click to expand...

I'm not speaking as a photographer myself but I would imagine it has to be one of the toughest subjects to get a decent quality shot of in Scotland at least. I've spent plenty of time in prime Goldie habitat and have been lucky to get some stunning views down to feet, however these are always shear luck and just being in the right place at the right time. It's hard enough just showing people decent views of Goldies let alone getting a cracking photo!
 
The other person who has a good track record and a nice site for seeing Eagles is Bryan Rains on Mull. He runs Wild About Mull and I have visited a site with him where the Eagles often fly nearby.

I am out perhaps 100 - 150 days of the year. I see Eagles more in winter; probably 25% of the time. I have seen lots of behaviour and have some nice flight shots, but nothing to write home about. You have to bear in mind that there is a low density of Eagles and high density of food (Hares, Deer, Grouse etc). That said a local snapper put out a sheep carcass and struck lucky after a few weeks.

The best encounters I have had are from the west. The best of all on the Outer Hebs when one sat next to the road on a rock (my client got a photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/58519338@N08/7420826180/in/photolist-ciKF5Y-dEK4yq)
 
Telephoto Paul said:
* Also true for Osprey. Scotland = hundreds of metres away down a telecope. Everglades = sat on a telegraph pole in the car park.
Click to expand...

I was in Cornwall a couple of years ago enjoying a pint outside a pub on the South Coast when an Osprey flew in off the sea directly overhead, but you are right about Fl Everglades. They nest at Flamingo in the carpark. I've never seen so many "tame" wild birds anywhere else in the world as in the Everglades, you could almost touch a lot of them, so its really good for photography.
 
Andy Hurley said:
I was in Cornwall a couple of years ago enjoying a pint outside a pub on the South Coast when an Osprey flew in off the sea directly overhead, but you are right about Fl Everglades. They nest at Flamingo in the carpark. I've never seen so many "tame" wild birds anywhere else in the world as in the Everglades, you could almost touch a lot of them, so its really good for photography.
Click to expand...

We saw them sitting on lampposts and fences in the centre of San Diego a couple of years back, utterly unfussed by people and cars. Brilliant.
 
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