The Burgeoning Bald Eagle Population of Long Island (featuring photos and personal excerpt by Meredith McCarthy)

While most of the chatter in the Long Island wildlife photography community turns to Snowy Owls this time of year, they are far from the only large raptors we have in the area. Over the past decade or so, Bald Eagles have reestablished a population on Long Island. There are few sights more majestic than a Bald Eagle soaring above the treeline, fishing, or perched high in an old growth tree.

One of the best photographers on Long Island at capturing that majesty is Meredith McCarthy (@merecat_photography). Over the past year, she’s chronicled one of the breeding pairs of Bald Eagles that have made their home on Long Island. For this article, Meredith and I took a look at Long Island’s Eagle population, including her amazing photography and a guest section from Meredith speaking to her experience witnessing them throughout the year. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Meredith’s photography and hearing her story.

#NTVartists: Raptors of Long Island Through the Lens of Shane Etter (@BigOleMrKanish)

While I may not ‘love’ social media, Instagram has provided the opportunity to develop friendships with a lot of awesome people in the Long Island wildlife and photography communities. One of those friends is Shane Etter, a prodigiously talented photographer whose bird portraits are always a highlight of my Insta-feed.

Last February, Shane and I collaborated on a #NTVblog featuring his photos of the various owls that can be found on Long Island at different times throughout the year. Today, I am excited to post our follow-up, exploring the diverse non-owl species of raptors that can be found here as well.

For more of Shane’s photography, please follow him on Instagram.

#NTVartists: Owls of Long Island Through the Lens of Shane Etter

Shane Etter is one of the most talented bird photographers on Long Island. His patience and keen eye has resulted in breathtaking shots of some of our Island’s most elusive residents and winter visitors, owls. It’s not uncommon for Shane to spend hours in search of his muse - fighting the biting coastal winds of the frigid south shore or navigating the woods in search of these beautiful birds.

Those willing to brave the cold have seen an increase in owl sightings on Long Island over the past few years. For this month’s blog, we are highlighting Shane’s beautiful owl photography from around Long Island and giving some background on his incredible subjects.

For more of Shane’s photography, please follow him on Instagram.