Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The eagle wintering season in southern New England will soon come to an end. So recently a friend & I took a three-hour eagle watching cruise on the Connecticut River in the course of an absolutely beautiful day. Because we had been on this particular trip a couple of years ago and knew what to expect once underway, I decided against the encumbrance of a 400/6.8 and shoulder stock along with binoculars and camera bag amidst all the passengers. Instead, a recently acquired 80-200 Vario Elmar came along so that I could see how it would perform in an environment other than my back yard where it's done some very nice images of my resident downy woodpecker. Well, I had a hunch that I would be underpowered, glass-wise, and that turned out to be the case. The cruise is an environmentally conscious operation and for reasons of both safety and concern for the birds themselves the captain did not approach closely. The negs on the light table and some Panalure prints do show some decent record shots but nothing to compare with Robert Stevens' magnificient pictures. Nevertheless, the day was a memorable one: 12 immature bald eagles, 4 adults, some red-throated loons, a golden eagle (unusual for these parts), a rough legged hawk (ditto), and a harbor seal! And next year, the 400 will come along. Roy