James River eagle photo tour by boat

Bald Eagle Photo Tour meetup with Captain Mike Ostrander's “Discover the James”. Limit 4 people. Eagles, osprey, herons and birds! This is an exceptional eagle and wildlife photography opportunity. Captain Mike is one of the best eagle guides on the East Coast and also provides excellent narrative about the eagle's territories and history. In addition to bald eagles there's a good variety of other wildlife to photograph. Great blue heron and egrets are dependable and put on a show when they eat. There will be plenty of mature and juvenile eagles around. Deep Bottom Park https://henrico.us/rec/places/deep-bottom/
has ample parking and nice heated public bathrooms. Dress appropriately for the weather. You may bring snacks or a thermos of coffee if you like. There is a cooler with ice and free bottled water on the boat. We will not get off the boat during the tour. The boat is a large comfortable pontoon boat with flat deck and a roof over about half of it. This is a private tour just for RPMG members. For photographers with long lenses - having only 4 passengers will be an advantage. Be at the parking lot at Deep Bottom by 6:50 to avoid delaying our start at 7:00 AM. The trip will run about 2 hours - maybe a little longer - so figure on returning by 9:15 AM. Weather call is up to the Captain. If weather prevents going I will post a notification here. If we can't go on this date, we will try to schedule a makeup date.

Note: There have been waiting list on most of these eagle meetup trips. Don't sign up unless you are sure you can go. The Meetup software does not allow for carrying-over a wait list to a new event - and in fact erases all names from the waitlist once the event happens. So I have no way to shift those that were on a prior wait list to a new date. Sorry - each event registration is "stand alone". So it will be first come first served on this event. However, If you have already been on an RPMG Eagle trip this year, consider holding off to let others have a chance to go.

For shooting detailed images of eagles and other wildlife bring a long lens that reaches a focal length equivalent of at least 300mm or more but be sure you are comfortable hand holding your outfit while seated – and panning to track birds in flight. Most of my flying osprey and eagle shots are between 200-400mm. A good fast autofocus system is important. Shooting distance to wildlife will range from 30' to 250'. Tripods or monopods are not needed or useful when shooting from a boat - leave them at home. If you don’t have a long lens there is some nice river scenery to capture.

Cost is $110 per person for these 4 passenger photo trips. Payment may be made directly to Parks or via PayPal at prountrey@comcast.net. (James Rountrey). Payment is not needed prior to registration - but expected within a few days after getting a spot on the "attendee" list.. No need to pay if you are on the wait list. Refunds will only be issued if your space is taken by someone else.