Each year between an end of October and early January, hundreds of bald eagles gather near Conowingo Dam on Susquehanna River in Hartford County,  Maryland.  Just about two and a half hour drive from where I live, it is certainly close enough to DC metro area to make a day trop out there. The location is world famous for watching and photographing these spectacular birds. In winter months as many as a hundred or more eagles can be found there. 

Yesterday, I spent an entire day at the dam, along with hundreds of other photographers, standing and waiting in the cold for some eagle fishing action. It's spectacular to watch and fun to photograph these magnificent birds snatch the fish from the river or fight mid-air to steal the prized catch from one another. 

My advice for anyone interested at shooting eagles at this location is the following:

Long super-telephoto is definitely desirable at this location. I came equipped with my humble Canon 100-400mm lens mounted on a Canon 7D camera. I was not able record any close-up images,  as much of the action happens quite a distance away from the shore. With all that said, even with a shorter lens one can get lucky now and then.

You must be prepared for a long and cold day out there, lots of patience and a bit of luck as well. Eagle action is rather unpredictable. They will not do a whole lot most of the time, but sit in the trees, on the electric towers, the rocky island, the dam structures or in the trees on either side of the river with an occasional fly by. There are other birds out there to watch and photograph, such as fishing gray blue herons, cormorants and gulls. Get there really early, at or near the sunrise. I'm still convinced that just like with most other birds, bald eagles seem to be most active in the early morning hours. This was my experience anyway from two times at this location. Mornig shoots are much more fruitful. Dam release may further increase your chances for eagle action. Stay till about 4 PM. After that the light fades away rather quickly.

Here are a few shots from my attempts yesterday. Nothing to rave about but it's ok. It was great fun trying and I got to meet and chat with some really nice fellow photographers that came all the way from Texas. I picked their brains on the super-teles which they were using and which I'm dying to get one of those days. Not sure if what I learned from them made it easier or harder with my future purchase choice, but certainly it was good food for thought.

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