06/13/2026
Lighting is one of the critical and key components of photography. Yesterday provided for ever changing lighting from minute to minute. Owen and I watched Jackie on this perch and one moment she would be completely lit up and the next she would have part lighting or no lighting. Sometimes all you get is one extreme or the other. I love observations where the lighting is playing on the eagles head feathers, beak, talons and EYE. This photo shows the beauty of Jackie's top head feathers and her eye so well. We enjoyed yesterday as the temperatures were fluctuating too from one observation location to another. Being under the ambient light at 7,000 feet elevation can be brutal. I was happy to see Jackie move to this beautiful lakefront location where she enjoyed peace, the beauty of her surroundings and she took her time cleaning, stretching and combing through her tail feathers one at a time with her beak. She also combed through most of her chest and shoulders. It is fascinating to observe eagles when they are doing such finely detailed personal maintenance. I'm going to give some details about one of the little temporary identifiers of Jackie in an upcoming post. We're headed out to enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and to make some more observations here in the eagles neighborhood by Big Bear Lake. - Trish :)