Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, Church Creek MD

I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/blackwater/ in Church Creek Maryland this past week. The refuge consists of over 25,000 acres of freshwater ponds, tidal wetlands, open fields, and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests. It is also home to the largest breeding population of Bald Eagles on the east coast north of Florida.

Conservatively, I saw 50-60 Bald Eagles during my visit. Many of them perched in the various dead trees throughout the refuge. The males were busy hunting ducks, geese and songbirds, as  the female eagles are busy tending their nests, as their eggs should begin hatching in the next week. I urge you to check out this link to the Blackwater Refuge eagles nest cam. http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

In addition to the Eagles, I observed and photographed Great Blue Herons, Red Tailed Hawks, Snow Geese, Canadian Geese, and the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. One of the most impressive sites I witnessed, was watching an eagle  fly over the thousands of snow geese congregated in one of the many pools, and they would all take off in mass. As many times as it happened, I wondered if the eagles were just playing with them as I never saw one make a serious attempt to take one down.

I learned that the female Bald Eagle is not only physically larger than the males (no comment), but they also always assume the highest perch. In a few of my photos from the refuge where the eagles are tussling, it always involved the female reasserting her higher position. It was fascinating to watch.

I met many photographers at the refuge.They ranged from retired couples with small point and shoot cameras, to professional wildlife photographers with their $25,000 set ups (which is a discussion for another time). Regardless of the equipment used, we all were able to witness and photograph many  incredible scenes.

I hope you enjoy the photos, and if your ever passing through Maryland, do try and stop by the Blackwater refuge, it truly is amazing.

View photos at:   http://jerichohillsphotography.com/blackwater