This was last Monday at 1:10 p.m. and I had just left my house to get some coffee and a snack. JUST make the turn onto Youngs Island Rd and I notice this large bird in the tree over-hanging the road. I’m thinking, “Probably a vulture.” But I don’t see any others around and I say to myself, boy that JUST SEEMS kinda big!

Grab the camera and pull into a gravel area just beyond Gun Club Lane, pretty close to the bird. Start zooming-in and the large-hooked bill gives it away; it’s an EAGLE! Now I’m playing around with the camera, film clips/photos for some clear pictures, (between the sun and branches this guy is kinda obscured). OK got some photos! Eagle is gone.

NOW THINGS BEGIN TO UNRAVEL!!!

QUESTION – Have you ever had a Photo Opportunity, where everything you could want to happen DOES BUT, circumstances doesn’t allow you to get the photos?

ANSWER – I was about to have that experience! HOWEVER, I was not going to realize it until after I had gone through all the motions and then began to review my efforts.

THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY

Noticed another person on foot (with camera) down the road, on the other side of where the eagle was. We begin talking. He walks here a lot, “Good for wildlife and bird photos.” I point to my house. We no sooner said good for birding and a Great Blue Heron flies overhead and out of sight! (No chance for a photo) Then we noticed a Northern Harrier working the fields pretty far out! (Too far out and hard to see, No Photos!) Say Goodbye. I decide to drive up along Youngs Island Rd. and maybe run into the harrier again for some photos or movie clip. I depart and sure enough get a nice short clip of the Harrier working the fields. He then flies back down the road, out of my photo zone. Turn around, with luck, get him again and make a short movie clip. WHAT I DIDN’T realize was that I did not turn the camera off when I pushed the movie button! ( I now have a short clip, with about two minutes of videoing my passenger seat.) Drive down the road and COME across the Harrier again in PERFECT/CLOSE/CLEAR RANGE right next to my car AND push the button to activate the video (The video that was still running in my passenger seat – you guessed it, I turned my video off! That would have been a great video!

If ALL this other stuff + more hadn’t occurred, I would be writing a Happy, “HEY I SAW A BALD EAGLE” video!

Should have just gone for coffee after my eagle shots!

On the brighter side, maybe this is just a long-winded way for me to wind down/cool off AND remind YOU, just how good a wildlife viewing area this Youngs Island Road in Allamuchy Township is.

OBSERVATION AFTER REVIEW

Analytical breakdown of this Wildlife Encounter

FIRST – did get some Bald Eagle photos and film clips   – POSITIVE

SECOND – was out of sync with my camera – off when should have been on and vice-versa – NEGATIVE

THIRD – Did get an opportunity to talk about what I observed, so even without photos, did some Open Space Outreach about a good place to observe Wildlife!!  – POSITIVE

CONCLUSION – ***I am going to refer to a song by the singer Meatloaf, “Two out of three ain’t bad”

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran   

Director Open Space  

Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman    

Allamuchy Historical Society – President