We're Goin' a-Eagle Chasin'

My dad and I had been hearing on the news about the eagles making their annual trek (do eagles trek? Or migrate?) to north Idaho to partake in the feast of upriver salmon. As one weatherwoman put it, "You don't even have to try to take a good picture - you just need to push the button."

We drove around the lake, stopping here, stopping there, wherever we pleased.

Despite the cold weather, we weren't alone in our quest for the perfect picture. The proprietor of a local Italian eatery, Capone's, was out, as was a young man disarmingly unconcerned about his equipment. He left a camera worth several hundred dollars on this ledge. North Idaho trust is so reassuring.

Early runoff dripped into icicles across the cliff's face.

Around the bend, we came across two people staring up into the trees.
"See any good ones?" my dad asked.
The man shielded his eyes. "Yeah, there's one on the second tree there," he said, pointing.
I focused my camera.

I zoomed in, and presto. The sharp beak on that sonofabitch could tear my guts out in an instant. And those talons? {shudder}

Despite the breathtaking detail, he wasn't the shot of the day.

This was.