Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Photographing my first eaglet...

Friday, March 29, 2013

It was sunny and warmer and since I had a long ride planned for Saturday, decided to load the kayak on the Jeep and head for the East Branch to check on my eagles.  As I drove though, I began to worry that the ice may not have melted enough to allow access to the entire body of water.  As I pulled up to the boat ramp area, it became clear that unless I had skates on the boat, I wouldn’t be kayaking there.  Instead, I drove to Russell Park and the Upper Cuyahoga River.

There was no ice on the river and I quickly put the boat in the water since daylight hours were dwindling.  I was alone in the park as I headed downriver.  With a strong tail wind, I made my way to the Iron Horse Bar & Restaurant, which sat on the river at the Rt. 422 bridge in a record 42 minutes.  Then I turned around…and faced the wind.  I’d only gone a hundred yards back up the river when I noticed a large bird perched about 40 feet up in a tree overhanging the water.  I’d seen an eagle in the distance moments earlier and this looked to be a youngster.  As I paddled closer, I realized that it was an eaglet and unable to fly.  I took several pictures while paddling just underneath its perch before heading back upriver and into a very strong wind.  It took well over an hour to make the return trip since I was fighting both the current and the gusts, though this created a much better workout.  I was extremely pleased for the opportunity to photograph my first eaglet and the tough workout I was hoping to get in the kayak with the triathlon three weeks away.

Kayak duration:  Two hours.
Training Heart Rate:  80-110 bpm.
Calories burned during workout:  850.

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