Eagles in Homer, Alaska

[sergey_oboguev]

<p><i>> where the $1700 came from?</i>

 

<p>To clarify: that's a typical cost of a photo tour to Homer (not including airfare, lodging and car rental) ran by one or another distinguished professional photographer. The difference as compared to just coming on one's own I believe is in the kind of shots one can get as these tours include fish throwers that throw fish in a water to let eagles fly over the water and grab it out, in the breaks sitting on the ice pack at the edge of the water etc. -- something that I believe one does not see at Jean's spot. Given the situation and demand it might very well be that all planned tours for 2006 are already sold out.

 

<p>Someone who disagrees with the price is certainly free to set up his own fish throwing party by bringing in his pals to Homer to serve as fish throwers or finding locals who would do it and making an arrangement with Land's End or other property owner (assuming information about Harbormaster's prohibition is true).

 

<p>For the record, from what I hear, local photographers etc. (even those approving of feeding or neutral to the whole feeding issue) tend to disapprove of the tours that set up their own feeding operation as those tend to detract the eagles or a portion of eagles from Jean's place.

 

<p>As for the Jean's compound, her basic and absolute rule is that everyone should stay in the car (and shoot out of the car windows, using car as a blind) or at least maintain ample distance if out of the car so as not to spook or stress the eagles. She does not get any money (despite being <b>the</b> reason why the eagles are in Homer) but she does ask the visitors to voluntary help her with carrying and handling fish buckets and cleaning the snow as she is about 80, had undergone major surgery and it is becoming hard for her to do it.

 

<p>As far as I know, eagles are present in about the same numbers January through March, then disperse.

[j_robinson2]

If one drives up from the US can you do so without a Passport? Does NAFTA make it so we can drive back & forth with our neighbor without problems?

[heatherforcier]

Being in Vermont, I cross the Canadian border quite a bit. It's actually been a while, used to be a US citizen could cross with a passport or a birth certificate. Your best bet is to call the border station where you plan on crossing and find out what the latest is.

 

If crossing with your camera gear, consider registering the serial numbers with the US side BEFORE crossing into Canada. When you come back into the US you may have to prove you did not buy the gear in Canada to avoid paying taxes and duties. I don't plan to cross without registering my gear beforehand.

[jimstrutz]

So far you can generally get through Canada with just ID. At least that's all they asked of me the last few times. A drivers license works. I usually find it harder to get back into the US, than out of it. The Alaska border folks generally want a birth certificate for any kids in the car. I believe they can also require proof of vehicle insurance, etc. I know the Canadians sometimes wouldn't let delapidated vehicles through unless you could prove you were financially responsible enough to get it all the way through. It's an amazingly liberal border system & I suppose it does need to be tightened up in these not-so-safe days.

 

This may be about to change. There was a conspiracy afoot this past year to start requiring passports. So far that's not the case, but...

[frank_dzambic]

Generally you just need a birth certificate to cross the border. The whole passport idea looks likely to be shelved in favour of a new standardized Identity Card with Bio-metric information embedded. (Your papers please!) Even if the passport idea isn't shelved by the U.S Gov't, I don't think it takes effect for another year anyway.

[mr. ricco]

Skagit River valley east of Mt. Vernon, WA. which is less then an hour from me. First spot I stopped yesterday I found 7 Baldys within one view. They are here every winter along with Snow Geese and Swans. A great bird wintering area at my back door.

[greg s]

Sure is nice to see all of these eagle pics and observations coming in from around N America.

 

There are some good spots in Florida as well, for those who like warmer winter photography. :)

[gloria_hopkins]

Yes, (wild, not "fed") bald eagles abound in south Florida. Just a little hurricane battered ugly round here, but ... come on down. Lots of Osprey and red tails too.

[gloria_hopkins]

Once I saw a bald eagle being chased by an osprey which was being chased by a crow which was being chased by a mockingbird. NO joke. It was mid-april and hormones were raging in the wild.

 

My roommate said that I didn't see the dragonfly that was chasing the mockingbird. I told him that he didn't know anything about birds :)

[greg s]

"a bald eagle being chased by an osprey which was being chased by a crow which was being chased by a mockingbird"

 

I love it! Haven't seen a chain of chasers that long, but I can imagine it. When we were in Florida we were watching an eagle keying in on ospreys that had just made a catch... cause the bird to drop the fish, then get a free meal. Crafty! :)

[mark_chappell]

<i>"a bald eagle being chased by an osprey which was being chased by a crow which was

being chased by a mockingbird"</i><P>

 

Just this morning I watched a juvenile peregrine catch a pigeon and try to fly off with it, only

to be mobbed by at

least one crow, a raven, a kestrel, a red-tailed hawk, and a ferruginous hawk. Lots of

screaming, circling, and diving ensued. I lost track of the skirmish briefly but a few seconds

later the peregrine reappeared <I>sans</i> pigeon. I don't know who got it, but the falcon

was clearly put out.

[mark_chappell]

The peregrine and her pigeon, just before being mobbed:

[jimstrutz]

So, you're saying, the early bird doesn't get the pigeon? -- How sad.

[mark_chappell]

Got it... but lost it. There were plenty of pigeons around, and I imagine the falcon didn't go

hungry for long. Pretty exciting to watch, both before and after the pigeon got caught. I

wish things had been happening a little closer to me, but that could be construed as

photographic greed.

[mbb]

It is excitement to watch raptors hunting. Lately I was lucky to see some very close actions: Sharpie getting woodpecker maybe 20 feet away. Yes photographic greed; I grabbed camera with 500mm + 1.4X (and had a second one with 100-400 next to it) and it was too close to frame it. And week ago kestrel was more friendly, he gave me two chances hunting grasshoppers about 15 feet away from me. So I was well prepared for the second one and got the nice sequence. One frame is here:

http://www.photo.net/photo/3927759

 

Coming back to original question: What are an average temperatures in Homer during February and March. And what is a chance for a sunny day? Statistics show only few days a month sunny.

[mark_chappell]

<I>What are an average temperatures in Homer during February and March. And what is a

chance for a sunny day? </i><P>

 

I dunno about average temperaturesin those months, but when we were there in late

February it hovered around the freezing point most of the time. Light snow one day,

meltwater the next. In 3 or 4 days the sun was not out much, but diffuse, even light from

high overcast worked better for eagles than sun, I think (no glare off the white heads). There

was essentially no snow on the ground and no ice in the bay.

[jimstrutz]

I love good bird photography, but it's so hard to well. These have been great. I suppose better equipment would help with the effort, but that's only part of my problem.

 

Yeah, sunny weather in Homer, and all coastal Alaska, is hard to predict. It happens, but much of the time it is flat gray overcast. Not even interesting clouds. Try to keep the sky from showing too much I guess, but that's hard to do with birds. The ones on the Homer Spit, are often sitting low, as there are no trees out there.

 

Most of the winter Homer is vacillating between freezing & thawing, and most of the time it is pretty close to doing both/either. Sometimes it's below zero F, and other times it is nearly 50F. It's also sometimes wet & windy, and a miserable place to stand around in. But it's not always like this, and when the Sun shines it's beautiful.

 

One thing the weather seldom does on the coast is remain for very long, so if you don't like what you see, wait five minutes & check it again. If you come for a week, you are probably going to see the Sun, or see a great storm... ...or maybe not.

 

March weather is better than February. You can also come see/shoot the Iditarod, and Fur Rondy dog races. When the weather clears a bit, quickly get to Homer. It's a nice drive. - I'll shut up now, I'm starting to sound like a tour guide.

[mbb]

Mark C and Jim, thanks for all infos. Jim your insiders remarks are priceless. Best regards, Mark

[mark_chappell]

As Jim says, it can be very pretty indeed in Homer in February and March:<P>

 

<A HREF="http://www.biology.ucr.edu/personal/MACphotos/Alaskascenes/

Homersunrise.html">morning view</a>, <A HREF="http://www.biology.ucr.edu/

personal/MACphotos/Alaskascenes/alpenglow.html">evening view</a>, <A HREF=

"http://www.biology.ucr.edu/personal/MACphotos/Alaskascenes/

Homersunset.html">sunset</a><P>

 

And very pretty on the drive between Anchorage and Homer:<P>

 

<A HREF="http://www.biology.ucr.edu/personal/MACphotos/Alaskascenes/

Turnagain.html">Turnagain Arm</I><P>

<A HREF="http://www.biology.ucr.edu/personal/MACphotos/Alaskascenes/

snowscenes.html">forest with new snow</a>

[mark_chappell]

Jim: did you get the picture of the bowhead on the ice at Barrow? I spent a year there in

1978. Wherever you took it, that photo brings back memories.

[jimstrutz]

Mark, I have always admired your pictures. These make me remember why I still want to live here. I'm certainly not a nature photographer, but I like to hang out on this forum to look at the images.

 

Yes, I was in Barrow for one day in February, I think it was 2002. I was staying for the afternoon with Arnold Brower, who is among other things, a whaling captain. They got one that very day, so he set me on a Skido and said "follow me." About 2 miles out on the ice we came to where they had the whale tied up to the edge. They proceeded to rig the block & tackle while 100 people showed up to pull on the rope. I took this and several others before I was compelled to grab a spot on the line. So, I tell everyone, "Yeah, I landed a whale." Makes for a good "fish" story.

 

That's not a particularly large whale, but I love the expression & excitement it shows. Most Eskimos are fairly reserved in demeanor, but when great things happen, everybody smiles. Of course whaling is a controversial subject & not everyone appreciates an image like this.<div></div>

[mark_chappell]

When I was in Barrow, one of Harry Brower's nieces worked in the office. Harry got the first

whale of the season (or one of the first), and we all got invited into town for the feast. It was

quite the scene -- I have a cherished piece of polished baleen with Harry's name carved on it.

[bill_thorlin]

It was/is my understanding that whale hunting is very strictly controlled and the numbers are limited to a "symbolic" level - or is that in Canada ?

[mark_chappell]

<I>It was/is my understanding that whale hunting is very strictly controlled and the

numbers

are limited to a "symbolic" level - or is that in Canada ?</i><P>

 

More or less, that's the case for the bowhead hunt in Alaska. I have not followed the

details

lately but there used to be (and probably still is) an annual quota for subsistence hunting

by

native peoples. For small villages, there's quite a bit of meat involved (these are big

whales, up to 50 feet or so). Bowhead

populations are stable (in the thousands) and the annual take is on the order of 20 -30 or

so

(numbers a bit hazy). Personally, I'm far more concerned about climate change as a threat

to

Arctic whale populations.

[bill_thorlin]

Sorry if I have gone off topic but I will explain why I asked. I was recently at a re-union and met up with an old friend from Kenya days who is running shark diving and other sorts of safaris off the coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. He has become involved in conservation at all levels (including official ones) and the information he came up with regarding depredation of the oceans and the creatures that live therein I found horrifying. I know him well and I have no reason to doubt his veracity or integrity.

 

He made an interesting observation in that as it is not so immediately apparent a problem as virtually empty gameparks etc. it does not attract the same attention ( apart perhaps for whales ) or such quick attention. I have taken on board what he said and am becoming concerned/involved in this area so the postings obviously sparked a reaction from me.

 

Mark - I hear what you say regarding climate change but would also add a concern for the indigenous peoples and the polar bears.