Birds of prey

What does a father do when given the directive: "I don't care where you take them, just get them out of here!" (Beth was desperate to get the house clean before our house blessing, a task nearly impossible with four little ones under foot.) Russell suggested hiking, most likely because that's exactly what we had done once before under similar circumstances. I told him it was too cold to be out that long. Instead I suggested an idea that had been percolating in my brain all winter: Bald Eagle watching. Or more specifically, Bald Eagle photographing.

This idea was born of two different facts: first the Bald Eagles like to winter in the Quad Cities because the Mississippi River doesn't freeze over and they can find food. Bird watchers come from all over the region to see these giant birds of prey up close. We even have our annual Bald Eagle Days. Yet, for all of this hype, I don't remember ever heading out to see one of our own natural treasures.

The second fact is that Grandma Johnson gave Thomas her used digital camera when she got a new one and he loves taking pictures with it. He'll snap pictures of his siblings around the house and other things that catch his fancy. (Several of these are his.) One time we found a series of photos that retold a battle between several of his Lego ships, robots, and figures, like a stop motion movie.

So, the last time the five of us got out of the house for the day - the hiking trip Russell was talking about - it was to let Thomas try his hand at some wildlife photography. We were hoping to see a deer at Scott County Park. This is what we found instead:

Thomas' first wildlife photograph. Perhaps not the most auspicious of starts, but he was five. At least this time we found the animal for which we were on the hunt:

Thankfully, I had my camera along, too, so to follow are some pictures from our grand adventure.

Here's the team on the trail at Credit Island in Davenport. To follow is what we saw. All these photos are pretty heavily cropped, because I don't really own an appropriate telephoto lens. (Christmas gift hint: Make sure it fits a Nikon D50...)

After Credit Island we drove to Lock and Dam 14 in LeClaire, IA. There were a ton of eagles, but none that would look like anything more than specks through my camera. Some foolish fellow bird watchers loaned the twins their binoculars, though I'm not sure they were ever pointed in the right direction. Luckily the glasses were returned in one piece.

And then we finished up our day at Fejervary Park in Davenport, where we ate lunch and enjoyed the playground equipment. Yes, that is KFC in Elliot's mouth.

And here's one last photo from Thomas' camera, Daddy holding the rare and beautiful LuLu Bird: