This week I had been hanging out with all the eagles just below the two bridges along Marine Drive main, where the Colonial and Cayhegle rivers meet.
The salmon are spawning there and I’ve been drawn to it like the eagles are. I got out of my truck and walked the trail along the edge of the Colonial river towards the pool where the two rivers meet. It’s like walking through an old growth forest, as there are some large cedar and spruce in there. I heard an eagle screeching amongst the trees. The sound of the river was on my right and the sound of the water changed tones as it flowed. I heard the wings of eagles flying up into the trees as I made my approach. The crows are somewhere above me talking while I walked through the trail. These sounds eased my anxiety about the possibility of meeting up with a bear. I haven’t seen one lately, but there is definitely a big one around judging by the size of some paw prints I saw in the sand.
I then made my way out into the open at the river, where I took out the camera and mounted it on the tripod. I drank from my cup of coffee while standing at the river’s edge, watching a number of salmon holding their own against the easy current. That’s when I spotted my first image; a juvenile eagle sitting on a branch across the river.
Douglas Bradshaw has lived in the North Island for 33 years. He is a Landscape and Wildlife photographer based out of Port Alice B.C. His website is portalicephoto.com follow him on YouTube and Facebook at Port Alice Photography, Images by Douglas Bradshaw