Aging of Eagles 2

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Aging of Eagles Part 2:

I had several people ask how to tell how old the Juvenile Eagles are. Here are some reference photos of all 5 stages of them maturing. The age is under each photo in the description. I haven’t seen many mud heads (3.5) year old Eagles this year.
 
.5 year old (Black Beak)
 
 
1.5 year old (Black and Yellow Beak)
 
 
2.5 year old (Yellow Beak)
 
 
3.5 year old (Mud Head)
 
 
4.5 year old (head not pure white, some white still under the wings)
 
 
5 year old + (Mature Adult)
 
Reference Photo – Not mine.
 

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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent

Fox on the Run

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Tuesday 1/27/26 while photographing Eagles on the Iowa River South of the Power Plant roller dam, in between the Railroad bridge and Benton St Bridge. There was plenty of Eagle activity, but heard the sound of a train coming. The train spooked a pair of Red Foxes, the first one slide down the river bank in a hurry and buried into some brush. Right as it was ready to step out it turned and looked at me with a mostly open shot. The second photo is the other one of the pair and was on a mission to get away from the noise of the train. I was really hoping they would stop and take a Canadian Goose for some action shots. They just continued to work South until out of sight. Could be an interesting place in the spring for Fox Kits.

Anybody else singing “Fox on the Run” by Sweet (1975)

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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent

Eagles at Tailwaters West

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Thursday January 22nd, 2026. I was bored so I went Eagling over in Iowa yesterday.

L&D14: zero eagles after reports of 25+ yesterday.
L&D15: 6-8 eagles mostly juveniles active 3/4’s of the way across lots of Pelicans. A few fly overs.
Credit Island: city crew out cutting up downed trees. Zero eagles
Concord street: some open water South of the Blue 280 bridge. 3 Eagles sitting on the ice. So far zero activity.
So I drove another hour to Iowa City, Power Plant roller dam, 20 eagles active and some fishing. Parking there is an issue. I walked the railroad tracks down to the foot path and then walk back to north to the roller dam. Long lens needed. Eagles turned off at 2:45 pm.
I then headed to the Tailwater’s West for the golden hour: 12 eagles in the cottonwood tree by the boat ramp. The pool is mostly iced over. 6 – 8 active eagles sitting in the trees by the chute. Flow rate from the dam was way down, but when a fish did show up, there was action, fishing and chasing. 3:30 – 4:45pm. It is a special place and could be as good as L&D 14 was back in the days before the trees died. too bad it is 3 hours from home. Seems to be best the first hour, and the last hour of the day.
 
The next 7 – 10 days should keep getting better, as more rivers ice up and snow should cover the ground.
 
Camera Settings
Canon R5.2
Canon RF600
Handheld
1/2500
F4
ISO 800 – 3200 (AUTO)
 
Full fishing sequence.
 

Fly by with fish.

quartering away.

Juvenile is golden hour light.

Lots of American White Pelicans at Lock & Dam 14 and Lock & Dam 15.  The males are just starting to get their breeding hump on their bills.

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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent

Long Ear Owls

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I decided when Sharon told me we were moving back to Illinois, that I would try and complete my bucket list of all the owls in North America. I took a huge step forward the last two seasons.

January of 2024, at Sax Zim Bog (SZB) I got my Great Gray Owl (GGO)
January of 2025 at Two Harbors and SZB I got my Boreal Owl

So this year’s goal was / is a Saw Whet Owl. That hasn’t happened yet, but was able to cross off Long Ear Owl (LEO) today. In fact I spent the morning with 6 or 7 and was able to get some mostly clear photos. The long-eared owl are a medium-sized owl, which measures between 12 and 16 inches in height. The males are much skinnier and lanky compared the larger females. The males have much more facial coloring.

Today was a long but great day in the field: LEO’s, and also a Great Horned Owl (GHO) on eggs already, and finished off with another beautiful juvenile male Snowy Owl (SNOW). Pretty much from 4:00 AM – 3:30 PM.

Photos of the GHO and SNOW to follow as I get them edited. Time to suck it up and start putting miles in the woods to find my Northern Saw Whet Owl (NSWO)! Anybody have any leads on a NSWO or Barn Owl and willing to share PLEASE msg me!

After the Saw Whet, I’ll still need a Barn Owl, Pigmy Owl and the smallest of them all an Elf Owl.

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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent

Great Horned Owls

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This evening I thought I would give the white owls a break and went to check on my Whitetail bucks to see if they have started to drop their antlers.
On the way to my spot, a Great Horned Owl (GHO) flew across the road and into a large tree out front of a farm house. Of course I turned around drove up the lane and rang the door bell with my card. They older home owner was super nice and gave me permission to walk around and look for their nest. As soon as I came around the side of the house 1 Owl flew west. I started looking around and there are pellets everywhere!  Anyway, saw the other owl farther back and took the second photo (I believe this to the be female as it was larger). She called and the male flew back closer and presented me with a clear photo.
 
 
As soon as I took it, I headed back to the truck to give them room and leave them alone. I’ll be checking in on them once a week to see if I can find their nest and hopefully owlets in a couple month.
Since I found those two, I turned the truck and around and headed to a local city park that has had GHO’s the last 5 or 6 years. I was losing usable light fast so I was high-tailing it back to the corner where they normally hang out. I was only halfway back and could hear a pair calling back and forth. I got a decent photo of one of them with limited branches in the way.
 
 
Anyway it is breeding season for Brown Owls (Great Horned Owls (GHO) Barred Owls (BAOW) and Screech Owls (EASO)). If you have any breeding pairs, an active nest, or box PLEASE let me know. I’d love to come photograph them and give you a free print for the access! As long as I am begging for wildlife subjects, be on the lookout for Fox, Bobcats, and raccoon babies in a couple months!
 

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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent