Sometimes the best wildlife photographs happen when you're waiting for something completely different.
We were set up low on the beach on Île aux Perroquets in Quebec's Mingan Archipelago, photographing Atlantic Puffins bathing on the relatively flat water during one of my Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Galore Photography Workshops.
It was one of those wonderfully productive sessions when there seemed to be puffins everywhere.
Then, almost instantly, they scattered.
That in itself wasn't unusual. The puffins react much the same way whenever a Raven, Great Black-backed Gull or Herring Gull flies past, so there wasn't much reason to think anything extraordinary was about to happen.
This time, however, a Bald Eagle came swooping in low over the water, heading straight toward the commotion.
Fortunately, I was already behind the Sony a9 III and Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS, set up for fast-moving puffins. I acquired the eagle as it approached and kept photographing as it dropped toward the surface, wings fully spread and feet extended.
For an instant, everything came together: beautiful low light, a relatively clean background, the eagle facing almost directly toward me and those enormous wings stretched across the frame.
1/5,000 second, f/4, ISO 1,600.
Exactly the kind of unexpected opportunity that makes wildlife photography so addictive.
Was the Bald Eagle Trying to Catch an Atlantic Puffin?
That's the question I was asking myself while reviewing the sequence.
I don't often see Bald Eagles this close to Île aux Perroquets during my puffin workshops, so having one suddenly sweep through all those puffins certainly got everyone's attention.
Was it simply investigating all of the activity? Was it testing the puffins? Or was it seriously attempting to catch one?
I can't know what was going through the eagle's mind, but if it was trying to catch a puffin, it picked a formidable target.
Atlantic Puffins may look somewhat comical standing on land, but once airborne they're remarkably fast and manoeuvrable. The instant the eagle appeared, the puffins knew exactly what to do — scatter!
Whatever the eagle's intentions were, it didn't catch a puffin while we were watching. Interestingly, it never dipped its talons into the water either, leaving us to wonder whether it was actually targeting a puffin, investigating all the commotion, or perhaps looking for a fish among the scattering birds.
Either way, it certainly disrupted bath time.
Are There Bald Eagles in the Mingan Archipelago?
Yes. Although most photographers understandably associate Île aux Perroquets with Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills and other seabirds, the surrounding Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve supports a remarkably diverse bird community.
Parks Canada reports more than 200 resident and migratory bird species in the reserve and lists the Bald Eagle among the raptors that nest in the islands. The archipelago also provides important breeding habitat for tens of thousands of seabird pairs.
That combination of concentrated seabirds, productive Gulf of St. Lawrence waters and relatively undisturbed islands helps explain why a Bald Eagle might occasionally appear around a puffin colony.
It's also a reminder that when you're photographing a wildlife spectacle, you aren't photographing an isolated species.
You're watching an ecosystem at work.
Wildlife Photography Tip: Be Ready for the Extraordinary
Here's something I tell my workshop participants often:
Be ready for the extraordinary while photographing the ordinary.
When you're waiting for action, stay configured for the fastest thing that could reasonably happen — not simply what the subject is doing at that moment.
The puffins were calmly bathing on the water. It would have been tempting to think, They're barely moving; I don't need 1/5,000 second.
But I didn't lower my shutter speed.
That's important.
Wildlife photographers often relax their settings when the action slows down. They drop from 1/5,000 to 1/1,000 second because the subject is sitting still, reduce the ISO and congratulate themselves on getting a "cleaner" file.
Then something extraordinary happens.
By the time they recognize it, change settings and reacquire the subject, the moment is gone.
I would much rather have ISO 1,600 at 1/5,000 second than ISO 320 and a blurred Bald Eagle.
Modern cameras have made high ISO remarkably forgiving. They still haven't invented software that can go back in time and give you the shutter speed you should have used.
Set Up for What Might Happen
Before every wildlife session, I try to think beyond the subject directly in front of me.
If I'm photographing puffins sitting on the water, what else might happen?
A puffin could suddenly launch.
Another could arrive at high speed carrying fish.
Two birds could begin interacting.
A Razorbill could fly through.
Or, apparently, a Bald Eagle could suddenly come sweeping across the water.
The photograph wasn't planned.
Being ready for it was.
That's one of the most important lessons in wildlife photography — and exactly why I was already at 1/5,000 second when this eagle appeared.
Photograph Atlantic Puffins With Me
My Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Galore Photography Workshops on Île aux Perroquets are designed around extraordinary access, small groups and lots of time in the field photographing Atlantic Puffins in flight, carrying fish, bathing, interacting and simply being puffins.
Being in the field for extended periods also means being there when nature changes the script.
Sometimes that's a puffin returning with a bill packed with fish.
Sometimes it's an unexpected Merlin.
And sometimes it's a Bald Eagle sweeping low over the water and scattering every puffin in sight.
That's wildlife photography — and a big part of what keeps me coming back.
Join me for an upcoming Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Galore Photography Workshop and experience Puffin Paradise for yourself.