We have been on long walks lately. “Plenty of beach,” as Gary says while we walk more than two miles north. The young eagles have been around, Crows or a raven most often give warning, scattering black oystercatchers, gulls, whimbrels, and other shorebirds. Most days we see at least two of last year’s now-molting babies are overhead and sometimes their parents.
She was after this oddity . . .
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more than three feet long.
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Usually, we see gulls perched here.
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She caught me staring and moved.
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I use my zoom to photograph eagles, never getting closer than fifty yards. They are still protected and should be respected. The tourist below approached an adult closer and closer until she was forced to fly.
Stupid move.
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IMPERFECT PATIENCE 
That stack of rocks is actually a troll with a bad sunburn and in April too—well we’ve had coffee, wanna go for a walk?
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Absolutely!
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How fortunate you are to see eagles so close! Such great photos! I love the stacked rocks and photo of you Jan!
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Thank you, Toni. We are always careful to avoid disturbing the birds. Seagulls mostly ignore us so long as we do not walk toward them or stare, but mostly we give them a wide berth.
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I’m surprised anything bothers seagulls. Those rock towers are amazing.
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Even seagulls are cautious of visitors. Though there is a leash law, dogs are particularly threatening to shore birds trying to feed onshore. The whimbrels and smaller bird have a hard time. And I have seen people deliberately frighten birds into the air, just because.
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I don’t have a zoom (yet) so I do approach birds, albeit slowly, cautiously, but the ones I approach are in trees so I’m limited in how close I can get anyway. I prefer that they don’t see me, although, by being in a tree, they see everything. Especially the bald eagle at the refuge where we bike. He has a designated spot and he can see us coming from miles away. He’s very good at posing, probably thinks we’re just a couple of odd-looking hairless bears. All that said, I can’t imagine approaching a bird, especially an eagle, on the ground. They’re not puppies.
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You are so right about puppies! (I mentioned the zoom because my photos often include close-ups. Perhaps some people are divorced from understanding “wild” animals or anything that is not wholly dependent on human beings.)
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I read an essay by Barry Lopez the other day where he wrote that he preferred to think of “wild” animals as free animals.
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