Since I never saw him arrive I have to assume he was there the whole time. It was dark, and this spot was away from the main marsh, but still he is a pretty big bird to miss.

The Eagle didn’t pay any attention to us so I took my time getting closer. I even mounted my lens on a monopod before starting.

The sky was losing light when these were taken.

I finally just set the monopod on a solid spot and turned my speed way down ( 1/400 ) which is too slow for shooting birds.

I had nothing to lose with these settings and rule # 1 is ‘take the shot’, then fine tune if necessary.