On a trip to the Oregon Coast last year, I was hoping to spot a bald eagle near the place where I was raised and ideally find an opportunity to photograph it. Sadly, I spotted no eagles in the time I spent in that area.
On the way south to spend some time in the Samual H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, my son and I stopped at the Simpson Reef Overlook where it is common to see sea lions, seals, and various species of waterfowl. The wind and rain initially dissuaded me from getting the camera out of the car, especially since the reduced visibility would make it tough to get sharp images of anything out on the rocks in the ocean water.
After a few minutes of looking around the area, I heard my son say, “Dad, there’s a huge bird out there on the rock. I think it’s an eagle!” I grabbed the small binoculars I keep in the car to get a good look at whatever he had spotted. Sure enough, there was a bald eagle perched on top of the largest rock overlooking the beach where the sea lions typically gather. I ran back to the car, grabbed my longest lens, a 1.4x teleconverter, and my Lumix GH4 camera (the 2x crop factor of the micro fourth thirds sensor would give a longer reach than the full frame sensor of my Canon R6 mark II).
As you can see in the photos, below, the weather added to the challenge of getting any sharp images. Still, the storminess of the day, the large waves, and the eagle’s interactions with the seagulls made for some good drama.
On a more recent trip to Oregon, another son and I were headed back to Utah, without having seen any eagles on the trip. It was in the morning and we were just passing Dean Creek where I grew up. There, in the Umpqua River, standing on an exposed sandbar, were 2 bald eagles. I quickly turned the car around and pulled off the road next to the river, quite close to where the eagles were standing. As soon as the car stopped, first one bird and then the other took off and flew across the river and disappeared into the trees (the river is quite wide at that spot). There was no time to grab a camera before the birds were gone.
This April, I again had an opportunity to drive up the Umpqua River to see if any eagles might be seen in that same spot. When I first drove by, there was no sign of them. On the way back down the river, however, there was a bald eagle perched on a moss covered fallen tree. Of course, I pulled over again, hoping the bird would stick around long enough for me to capture a few photos.
As I grabbed my Canon camera and swapped the attached lens for my Sigma 150-600 mm zoom lens, I could hear the eagle “talking,” perhaps to the juvenile bald eagle I discovered later, that seemed to be following it around. Although the eagles flew across the river just after I approached more closely with my camera at the ready, they came back a short time later. I didn’t have a lot of time and opportunity for photographs, but I was able to gratefully capture these images.
Mom
11 Apr 2026Serendipity!!!