February 2022 – Photos by Pody

Bald Eagles are not common in Texas. Thera are about 150 known pairs in the entire state. We have a rare sighting of a Bald Eagle pair at an urban lake in Dallas. Last Saturday I decided to head to White Rock Lake to see if I could capture some shots of these beautiful birds. I got there early because I knew the downtown Dallas skyline would be high lighted by the rising sun. I parked and walked towards the lake to get the first shot.

Little did I know that I was being watched.

I turned around to look for the Eagles. Directly behind me, still before sunrise, one was perched in the trees. Of course I took about 40 pictures from that angle. There were marathon runners already our running around the lake as well. The bird didn’t seem to mind, so I got a little closer. I decided to go back up the hill where I parked to get more of a front view and wait for the sun to highlight the eyes and the side of its face. About 50 more pictures as the sun rose.

Then it happened. The bird left the limb. There are quite a few trees around the lake. Most of them got in my shots and all I could see was dark blur behind the trees. I jumped on top of a picnic table to try to get above the trees. The Eagle was down by the lake, flying up then back down to the water. An American Coot, a smaller black duck with a white beak, was swimming and diving under the water.

The Eagle hit the water several times and went back up. I jumped off the table and ran downhill, leaving some of my equipment behind near the table. One more swoop to the water and the Eagle captured the American Coot for breakfast!