I was parked near the Tuff Boat Ramp, watching a bald eagle perched in a large cottonwood tree at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Suddenly, the eagle swooped down from the tree, seemingly targeting something in or on the water. While I didn’t witness a catch, its focus must have been near a log floating in the Arkansas River. The eagle landed on this log and spent several minutes meticulously searching its backside before flying south across the river.
For context, I was sitting in my pickup parked on the auto tour road, near the edge of the river. This spot is west of the Tuff Boat Ramp, which happens to be the first boat ramp on the auto tour route. Interestingly, I often see a pair of bald eagles occupying the same cottonwood tree during my early morning visits. This has been a consistent sighting for several years, leading me to wonder why they haven’t built a nest there.
I had my Canon EOS 7D camera with a Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM lens attached and resting on a bean bag draped over the open window of my pickup.
Camera Settings
- AV Mode
- Aperture: f8
- ISO: 640
- Shutter speed: 1/800 of a second
- Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
- Focal Length: 500 mm