Once again, the Eagle Expo in Morgan City, Louisiana was a huge success.  This year I attended the Friday night reception dinner, Saturday seminars and the Atchafalaya Basin tour with Cajun Jack.

After a superb, full course dinner I was excited to see the presentation of "The Inside Story:  Photographing Animal Behavior in the Wild" which was expertly given by Kurt Mutchler, Deputy Director of Photography, National Geographic Magazine.  It was a very interesting presentation about various wildlife all around the world.  It was amazing to see how tracking devices attached to these animals could, over the course of months, show you exactly where they had been and for how long, along with certain behaviors as the animal was faced with adversity.    

                              
                                                          Kurt Mutchler,
                                          National Geographic Magazine

Wouldn't it be interesting to find out exactly where the eagles we see in southeast Louisiana migrate from?  With technology today, I'm sure there is a GPS small enough to attach to an eagle's wing or leg.  We can only assume the eagles migrate from our Northern states and Alaska as no studies that I am aware of are being or have been conducted on this matter.

Saturday morning was filled with very interesting presentations on eagles and other raptors (hawks, etc.), and the brown pelican.  After a quick lunch, I set out for a tour of the Atchafalaya basin with Cajun Jack.  I had been on the tour before and chose this one again because of it's diverse opportunity to see different species of wildlife in the basin.  And this time was just as, if not more than, exciting.  We saw 28 eagles, hundreds of white pelicans and double-breasted cormorants, herons, an owl, anhingas, alligators, and of course many beautiful cypress trees. 

The pelicans were resting on a sand bar and as we approached, they all took off and circled the boat before landing again.  The cormorants, which are black, were mixed in with the white pelicans as they flew overhead.  The mixture looked like salt and pepper in the sky and their reflections on the water completed the breath-taking view!  You could hear the swoosh sound of all the wings flapping at the same time but in different rhythms.  I made a panorama of that scene.....  Check it out on my web site:  http://www.bayoubellephotography.com/


                     

Sitting up front is Scott Walter who gave a very informative presentation on the Louisiana Brown Pelican on Les isles Dernieres Refuge just south of Terrebonne Parish.  All the way in the back is Cajun Jack, who meticulously steered us through the "crooked" bayou within the Atchafalaya basin.  Amongst the other tourist where professors, photographers, photo journalists and others from near and far. 

Attendance for the Eagle Expo keeps going up each year.  If you haven't been yet, and you want to see some of the beautiful scenery and wildlife that I have captured through my lens, make plans to go next year.  You know I'll be there, God willing....February 25-27, 2010!  Here is the website for you to get more information:  www.cajuncoast.com or http://eagles.btnep.org/.  You'll even see a few pic's of me from 2008 on the btnep site. 

Even though the weather wasn't the best with the rain all around us, during the Atchafalaya tour the rain stopped.  Even with the cloudiness and deflected light, I still managed to get a few great shots as you'll see on my website.  Some were rather misty, but mystical, some with beautiful reflections created from the cloud disbursement, and some just breath taking.  Go to my website to check out the new photographs.  Click on the Gallery Viewer at the top right, then, What's New to view the new photographs!

Not ten minutes, after I had left the landing to return home, down came the rain again....  And this time, with a vengeance!  It was pelting my truck so hard from every direction that I got a free car wash!  A blessing in disguise.....

Enjoy!

Until next time......"Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!"
                                      Let the Good Times Roll!

~Darlene~