A Chilly Day on Kentucky's Barren River Lake - Photographing Gulls, Killdeer, and Bald Eagles

There was a bite to the wind on that November morning as a cold front had carried artic air into the region where it lingered like a chilled blanket over the landscape far longer than Kentucky would normally experience this time of year. Thanksgiving, still about a week away, was but an anticipation still to happen, but in the meantime I needed to get out for a while and exercise my legs and my camera.

The alarm sounded much too soon and with blurry eyes, I stared at it with a disgruntled disposition not believing it was already time to get up. But, it was, and I did, for I wanted to catch the sunrise as it bathed the farm country near Lucas.

My plan was to see how the sunrise might develop, then work across The Narrows to see if the gulls I had encountered the day before were still there and close enough to effectively photograph. The sunrise was better than I had hoped for as it climbed above the horizon appearing between a silo and a farm house. My hands grew numb as I waited for it, the wind cutting well into the inadequate gloves I wore. 

Even so, as the sunrise developed, I fired off a number of photo's and felt good about the results. I stopped shooting when the cold air numbed the end of my trigger finger enough to where I could no longer feel it. By the time I rolled into the parking area above the marina at the end of The Narrows peninsula, I had warmed up enough to use my binoculars to survey the lake.

There were some gulls, but they were far off, too far in fact to be able to photograph. I waited a short  while to see if they might migrate closer in, but they seemed content to stay well out on the lake.

This part of the lake is perhaps the most scenic with tall trees lining the edges of the lake. The Corp of Engineers drops the lake level about 25 feet or so during the winter and by doing so exposes the sharp contrasts of gravel beaches and rocky drop offs creating a beautiful almost canyon-like appearance. Fog and morning mist will often hover over protected areas where the wind doesn't affect its development. Across the way you can see an odd dark line that reaches about 1/3rd of the way up the tree line and wraps its way all the way around the visible shore. My guess is that dark line is the result of very high water levels from years past as I have other photo's taken several years ago that show that same line.

From what I can gather, there are three species of gulls that winter over in Kentucky; the Herring Gull which is the most common, The Ring-Billed Gull which is very common, and Bonaparte's Gull which turned out to be the most common one I photographed on this outing. There is a fourth one that is very rare but has been seen this far east and that is The Franklin's Gull.

Herring Gull

 I ended up moving on backtracking to the access road and working my way over to a location at the end of that crumbling road. This is really a beautiful location and it was here I discovered a good number of gulls, several hundred in fact, maybe upwards to 500. They drifted here and there circling and darting, then diving head first into the water to chase a tasty morsel. You could follow where the schools of bait fish were by where the gulls were congregating.

Bonaparte's Gull

I walked the 100 yards or so to the waters edge and sat next to an old cedar log. To my right was a long point of gravel beach that extended a good ways into the water. 

On its front edge several Killdeer were strutting around making their distinctive high pitched call. I could not get very close to them as they were quite jumpy so I made several long range photos and a few video clips of their antics. I sat there for a couple of hours enduring the cold wind that was blowing directly into my face. A good number of gulls drifted by, but way off across the open water several hundred gulls congregated along a gravel beach. 

Ever so often they would rise up and fly around only to return to their roost within a minute or two. That collective flight was fun to watch. While doing so, I noticed two large birds drifting along up high just above where those gulls congregated. A quick look through my lens revealed they were two Bald Eagles...and they were drifting toward me.

I began to fire off photo after photo and without noticing it, I caught them as they drifted near the pale moon almost hidden in the bright sky. Eventually, they came almost directly overhead. Amazing birds they are, bold, majestic, confident, striking against the sky.

In time they drifted off and eventually I returned to my Jeep for a snack and a warm cup of coffee. While sitting there I noticed what I thought was a coyote running across the sloping rocky bank to my right. With my binoculars I identified it as a red fox...with another domestic dog chasing him. The fox out ran the dog, darted over a fallen tree trunk, and left the other dog behind who trotted off retracing his steps. No photos, but it was fun to watch.

Further around that embankment, I noticed a good number of gulls swirling and diving just off the bank. It was good walk over there, maybe somewhat less than a half mile, but I walked across a frozen mud flat, up a rocky bank, and down to the waters edge where I gained a great vantage point for photographing those gulls. Spent over an hour there until the bait fish moved into deeper water and the gulls followed them. Before they all drifted off, a good number of them moved to my left where they were backlit by the bright sun. It was then I captured my personal favorite from the day. 

It is a simple composition with a gull drifting with outstretched wings highlighted and backlit by the sun, all against the dark, shaded distant embankment. It's the simplicity of the image that makes it my favorite.

The time passed by quickly and even though it was quite chilly, I really did not feel the cold so much. Watching and experiencing these birds as they effortlessly glided across the sky warmed my insides where the cold did not make any difference. I did manage to shoot a few video clips and along with some still photo's created a short video commemorating this fun shoot. Please enjoy.