Conowingo Dam Photographing Bald Eagles

If you are a Bald Eagle photography lover, then the Conowingo Dam Maryland is your destination. This is a hydroelectric dam on the Susquehanna River and is known to attract bald eagles in the fall. This has attracted a lot of people who come to take photos of these beautiful raptors and while they are fishing.  The view is amazing and being able to capture in a photo is gold. The dam is a good place for the Bald Eagles because fishing there is easy. This is because the fish making the trip through the generators will be stunned. Conowingo Dam Photographing Bald Eagles is a must-go adventure for any bird photographer.

Flying Bald Eagle With Fish

This ritual is usually predictable, allowing the photographers to get multiple shots at the fishing eagles, and this increases the chance of getting a money shot. One hour there can deliver more payback that spending hours on other places such as the Hudson in Mid-winter.

The season usually starts at the end of October and ends at the beginning of December, although there are always some eagles around all year long. The photos on this page were taken on October 4-5, 2015. The height of the hunt is usually around the Thanksgiving holiday. If you want to have an easier time at Conowingo Dam photographing Bald Eagles, then you should consider going there on weekdays. During the weekends, there are a lot of photographers, fishermen and onlookers and the parking space can be very limited.

Flying Juvenile Bald Eagle while at Conowingo Dam photographing Bald Eagles

When you visit during the season, you will find a lot of photographers in a line. These photographers come from all over the world to get a good shot, and many have top notch gear. Another choice you have to make is on the exact month to go there. In October, the eagles are not as plentiful as November, but the leaves are still on the trees and showing their fall colors, making a better background compared to November where the background will be just bare trees.

There are a couple of challenges that you must expect. The first is that the dam is located in a valley, so the light disappears relatively early and lasts longer in the far shores so you will require longer lenses to get the shots.

There are a number of things that can interfere with you shots. They may fly in the front of the dam, fly through power wires or the high power towers. Other birds can also interfere with your AF tracking although they can also be a bonus.

You should know when the dam is opening for power generation because you can waste a lot of time just waiting. It is important to know the power schedule, because the eagles start appearing when they hear the warning horn prior to opening the gates (for power generation). It seems that is their dinner bell.

Here is a link to a site for directions to Conowingo Dam. This is the phone number (1-888-457-4076) for the release schedule.

Conowingo Dam Photographing Bald Eagles will be one of the best destinations for your bird portfolio.

There are more Bald Eagle photos in the Nature Gallery. Please leave a comment below and follow me on Google + or Facebook on the right. Share with your friends!