January 2009 was a significant month for the small Alaskan village of Homer, Alaska. Jean Keene, the “Eagle Lady”, of Homer passed after almost 30 years of providing winter feeding, education, and conservation efforts for the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). After Jean’s death, the local officials decided to ban eagle feeding on the Homer Spit. Within a few days, an emergency ordinance was passed to allow eagle feeding to be extended for 60 days. Since eagle feeding had already begun for the winter, wildlife officials agreed it might be best to taper off the feedings. A life long friend and a professional photographer had been urging me for several years to get to Homer to photograph eagles “up close and personal”. Once Jean passed, I knew my last chance to have this opportunity was at hand. Homer, Alaska is on the shore of Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 4.5 mile (7 km) long gravel bar that extends into the bay, on which is located the Homer Harbor. The eagle feeding area was located on the narrow and windswept Homer Spit. Each morning the eagles came into the feeding area and it was an event that has no comparison. At times, so many eagles were in flight overhead it was difficult to get an isolated airborne shot of one bird. The images in this gallery are just a few examples of the hundreds of images I collected during the January visit to Homer.
