Eagles Revisited

This image is one of the original nesting pair of Bald Eagles in Clark. I photographed it at sunset on March 31, 2013 off of Yeazell Rd.

Some history....

In 1979, there were only 4 Eagle nests in Ohio. Thanks to the actions of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and conservation groups, eagles have resurged and are now nesting in almost all Ohio counties. By April of last year, there were more than 700 nests statewide....with 5 in Clark County. In the Lake Erie counties, eagles are very common and many of my friends up there consider them a "yard bird."

I still get a thrill every time I see one...if you haven't, I hope you'll have that opportunity soon!

For more information: 

https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/bald-eagle-nests-2020

This image was a re-edit of the original 2013 image. Photo imaging software today has come a long was.....I love adding new life and artistry to old images!!

Original:

Merlin

 On a quick drive through Old Reid Park, we spotted a Merlin. These are members of the falcon family and although not rare, they aren't seen frequently. 
We watched him preen for about an hour. 

Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area

 We did a visit to Killdeer Plains on Saturday with hopes of seeing Short Eared Owls. 
In addition to a couple of Short Eareds, we saw at least 15 Northern Harriers, Redtail Hawks, and many others.
A nice surprise was seeing a Northern Shrike which unexpectedly popped out of some roadside brush to take a look at us. 

November Sunset from CJ Brown

 I'm just getting around to processing some sunset images shot from the CJ Brown Marina overlook. 
The steeples of St. Raphael Church can be seen in the setting sun. 

Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction 12/21/2020

 One of the biggest astrological events this year is the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21.....the Winter Solstice.
This event happens about every 800 years, but 400 years ago it occurred during daylight hours and thus was not visible.  
While many folks were calling tis a "Christmas Star," it was not. However, it may have been interpreted as one in years past. 
My initial thoughts were to try to photograph the conjunction from our property, but the horizon is not easily visible. This conjunction was low on the horizon, and only visible from just after sunset until Jupiter drops below the horizon at about 7:30pm. Prime time to photograph being about 6:30. 
In order to visualize the horizon, I decided to try a couple locations at Buck Creek State Park on 12/20/2020 when we had clear skies. I found that at all of my potential locations did not have clear views, and decided to photograph from Old Reid Park using the ponds as foreground. 
This landscape view, using the Olympus EM1 Mark3 and Leic 8-18mm lens, shows the location of the conjunction in perspective to the waning crescent moon.  

Using switched to the Olympus Zuiko 300mm lens. The Olympus Starry Sky autofocus mode allowed me to lock focus quickly and accurately on Jupiter and Saturn. 

We returned the following night at about the same time on 12/21/2020....the Winter Solstice. 
Skies weren't friendly, with almost complete cloud cover. We decided to stay for a bit, and about 6:30, the clouds broke for about 15 minutes.