Day Trip to Reelfoot Lake

Those who follow me know I have a passion for street and documentary photography. You might not know that my first love was nature photography and more specifically, wildlife photography. Over the years, I’ve been slowly getting back into wildlife photography. It’s been fun. I forgot how much I love being outside in nature with my camera. I love the solitude and it’s relaxing. Hiking has the added benefits of exercise. That is always a plus. I love to shoot just about anything I find in the wild, but I really love to shoot birds, especially raptors like hawks and owls. The one raptor I have always wanted to capture, is the bald eagle. I have had some encounters in the past, but was never ready for some reason or another. After last winter, I told myself that I would make a serious effort to capture this magnificent bird during the next winter season. I’m happy to say that I have had some success. I’ve been watching a bald eagle family of three not too far from my home. I haven’t gotten what I would considered my definitive eagle shot just yet, but my technique is getting better and I’ve learned more about their habits.

This brings us to this post. If you’ve never seen a bald eagle in the wild and you want a guarantee that you will see one, you need to head to the North West corner of Tennessee.  Here, you will find Reelfoot Lake in Tiptonville. I have been a Tennessean all my life and I have never been to Reelfoot Lake. I lived in Jackson, Tennessee for three years which is just 90 minutes south of the lake, and I never took the opportunity to check it out. My priorities were a bit different then, so that might explain things. I have always wanted to visit this lake. I remember being intrigued when I found out it was formed by an earthquake. Well, I finally made time to make the trip.

My plan was obviously to capture bald eagles, but I wanted to see all I could see in one day. This meant I would be moving about a lot and not concentrating on just one area like I normally do when I shooting wildlife. I had a blast. It was a gorgeous, sunny, winter day. Temperatures started out in the thirties. I believe they reached the mid-forties. Cold is good when it comes to bald eagles. The colder the temperature, the better the chance you’ll see one. Prior to my trip, I reached out to a known photographer in the area. He has captured some of the best pictures of eagles I’ve ever seen. He was gracious enough to give me some recommendations for my visit. To see some excellent photography of bald eagles and Reelfoot Lake, check out his Facebook page, 3Ffotos Photography. The staff at the Reelfoot Visitor Center was also accommodating. The lady behind the desk gave me a map and even wrote some notes on the map for my excursion around the park.

I hope you enjoyed the photographs. I can’t wait to go back to this wildlife paradise! Thanks for taking the time to read my post. To catch my next adventure, Like and Follow me a Shuttering Thru Life. You can also follow me on Instagram.