This morning I drove up to the Conowingo Dam site located on the Susquehanna River in northeastern Maryland. It was my first visit to this site which is known for its large population of Bald Eagles. The dam is part of an electricity generation plant and when the turbines are in operation, fish are sucked in the intakes through the dam and the influx of large numbers of fish near the dam attracts the eagles. My understanding is that this time of year sees the largest number of eagles in the area. Even though one of the ‘regular’ photographers remarked that today’s activity level was ‘pretty dead’, I found it a great experience, often seeing 15-20 eagles in the area at once.

Above is an immature eagle showing patches of white on its wings.  Bald Eagles lose the white on their wings with their head and tail feathers turning white around the age of 5.

After making a catch, the eagles head towards the trees along the banks of the river to eat.  They also utilize perches in the trees to scan the river for their next meal. They have become accustomed to the crowd of photographers that are at the dam site every day, making this a great place to get close-up portraits of eagles.