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Justin Brady: Real Iowans, real Talk. No drama. I’m Justin Brady. This is the Iowa Podcast, and of course, we’re proudly recorded in the Jethro’s Barbecue studio. It’s eagle season. Did you know that Eagle watching season? Why now? Why February? Where do you go to watch? Eagles, how do you do, how do you do this For the uninitiated? It’s actually quite a few questions. I don’t know the answers to any of this stuff. So I brought in a ringer, Ron Maggard, who is a wildlife photographer, but photographer in general, you know a lot about eagle watching and you actually come highly recommended from another bird photographer that puts you in touch with uh, me. So thanks for coming in the studio. You bet.

Ron Maggard: bet. And glad to be here.

Justin Brady: We’re gonna talk all about Eagles. If you’re interested in Eagles and you’re interested in how to photograph them, where to go, that’s what the topic is going to be today. Before you do go get some chicken wings, why don’t ya? Chat throws barbecue. Of course, we love them. We are proud that they sponsor the studio. And if you want 30 bucks for free, it’s crazy. Go to Iowa podcast.com. Scroll to the top, click the little image of Jethro, and if you buy a hundred dollars gift card there. They’ll throw in a $30 gift card just ’cause you listen to the show. That’s kind of cool.

Ron Maggard: Best,

Justin Brady: let’s, let’s start it here. Eagle watching is a big deal. I didn’t know this, but it’s a big deal in Iowa. And let’s start broadly. Where do we go if we want to see the Eagles?

Ron Maggard: Well, I’d say Eagles are pretty much anywhere in Iowa anymore. Uh, they’ve had a dramatic. comeback. Uh, when I grew up, there wasn’t, I never saw an eagle till I was 50. years old. What exactly I, I didn’t not in Iowa. and they have come back. They’ve, they’ve done a wonderful. And come back anyway. Uh, now if you go to Rivers in Iowa Lakes, that’s primarily where you’re gonna find them

Justin Brady: rivers and why rivers and lakes, is there something

Ron Maggard: Um, in the wintertime, they end up migrate south. and What as a photographer, we dream about is it to get cold maybe 10 days 14 days below zero or around zero, where the rivers freeze up, the lakes freeze up, and then you’ve got the dam with open water going over it or a roller dam and the eagles congregate in that spot and you get plenty of opportunities for shots. You know, Photographing them at that time. There’s fights, there’s fishing. There’s, it’s, it’s amazing to watch.

Justin Brady: so where are like, why is this a key time? You mentioned the freezing of rivers and lakes has something to do with it.

Ron Maggard: Mm-hmm.

Justin Brady: And then why is that? What, what’s actually happening? Why do Eagles get excited about, you mentioned the dam locations. W what is it about freezing water that attracts

Ron Maggard: Well, it’s our food source. and an eagle Is a scavenger, and they will end up and take an easy meal along the road or a dead carcass. Uh, but if that’s not available for ’em, They have to feed on fish. That’s what they do. Uh, at least the bald eagles, do. Now you get into the golden Eagles That’s, that’s another story. But, uh, the. Uh, water’s open in those areas. and that’s where the fish are, and that’s why they go there.

Justin Brady: Got it. So you, you mentioned like freezing temperatures under, you know, we’re, we get really excited when it’s below Zero Eagle watching, and I’m thinking like As a person, that’s when I don’t wanna go outside and be active when it’s, uh, but, but eagles are different. And you gave a hint, which is when it’s below freezing, eagle watching is ideal because water freezes and the areas that are open water that are still moving, like dams and rivers that are moving, that’s where the Eagles congregate. So that’s why it’s easy to find them.

Ron Maggard: Yep.

Justin Brady: Got it. Okay. So are there key, is this why February then is kind of key Eagle watching season? ’cause things are cold for a long time? Yeah.

Ron Maggard: Our in Iowa, I would say they start migrating in around November. And they will go until February, end of February, end of the first part of March before they really start heading back. They’re already starting to made up and starting their nest building at this time. And uh, and yeah, if you want to go see Eagles, you gotta get outside and Go to one of those open. water areas.

Justin Brady: Now, are there any specific areas like cities or regions that you tend to go to? I don’t want you to give away too many of your

Ron Maggard: No, I, I don’t have a problem. in that. I want everybody to enjoy nature and, and enjoy watching them. Uh, Right down here. Between Scott Street and sixth Street Bridge, they’ve got the new construction going on In Des Moines. In Des Moines. Oh. And I was worried. to death that, that there would. They took out a bunch of trees. So us Eagle people, we were upset about that, you know. But right now there’s Still, kind of a roller dam. They’re still open water and the tree and the eagles still, uh oh. The eagles still hang out. in the Trees that are still there They’ve moved on further down so you can find them anywhere from Scott Street, sixth Street, east 14th, all the way down to the Railroad Bridge and beyond. right in this location. in Des Moines, you’ve got Saylorville, which is another great spot. I’ve found them over at Grays Lake before Red Rock Dam

Justin Brady: Red Rock Dam

Ron Maggard: Below the dam is good. Um, and then we get into further areas. You got at Towa sometimes that’s good. Uh, you can Go to Coralville. There are three roller dams in Coralville. And, Well, one’s a, one’s a dam, and tail waters, and then you’ve got two roller dams in I, uh, coralville that are. that can be pretty good. Um, it’s one Of the areas where you’re, actually able to get close up at tail waters. And when it comes to photography air. Photography is, the closer, you are the better. that image is gonna be. Right? Uh, and then you’ve got the Mississippi. River, uh, and Sunset Park in Illinois, and you’ve got lock and dams 13, 14, 15, 16, all the way down to 18. I’ve never shot a 17 or 18, but

Justin Brady: I, I thought you were gonna say like the best place for Eagle watching is this, these three locations in Iowa. But you’re not saying that at all. You’re saying that if there’s moving water, you’re also mentioning roller dams. That’s probably a pretty good spot to photograph and watch Eagles. Is that as

Ron Maggard: and That’s the way Scott Street was down here, that that water went over that roller dam and now they’ve kind of taken that out or they’ve raised the water level up and you still got a roller dam that’s. kind of in between Scott and sixth Street. Now. I don’t know what they’re gonna do With all their construction down there, But it’ll be, interesting if the Eagles stay around. And that roller dam still there, that’ll still allow the eagles to be here in Des Moines.

Justin Brady: is there a time of day that is ideal for Eagle watching? Um,

Ron Maggard: it, it’s really nice to get golden. hour light on, whether it’s morning or whether it’s evening. Uh, it can cast too harsh, uh, uh, too Much of a yellow tent. to ’em as well, so that’s not always wonderful, but. but. The things I always look for when I go out, uh, doing photography is, wind, how that wind’s gonna be affecting me. I want that wind at my back. So I catch an eagle coming in I love to catch ’em while they’re fishing, grabbing a fish. Uh, I also look at the light. If that light’s behind me, that’s great. If it’s an overcast day. That’s even better. Really, uh, I don’t want it really, cloudy, you know? Or my ISOs get up too high and my images get noisy, but, uh, like behind your back terms

Justin Brady: for those that don’t know. Yeah.

Ron Maggard: don’t Yeah. Yeah. Definitely photography, But and that’s what I do, I, I, I, just love seeing it and I, I enjoy it just as much as I, the first eagle that I ever photographed, I still. love it when they end up and get close and I can get some nice shots.

Justin Brady: There is a crazy cult-like following for like eagle watching in Iowa that I didn’t even know about. We were talking about this right when you got here to the

Ron Maggard: the studio.

Justin Brady: You, you mentioned that the best time to photograph eagles is kind of the golden air hour. You mentioned your ISO settings and your camera settings is the best time to photograph Eagles. Also the best time when they are most active though.

Ron Maggard: Um. A lot of times right now when they’re, they’re loaded Up and they’re grouped. up, you can catch them. Do an activity throughout the whole day. Oh, so it doesn’t have to be super it don’t have to be early. it don’t have to be late. Uh, a lot of times the Eagles, they do like feedings, so they start out, and they do that morning feeding. And I tell you what, that’s right at light up. You know, I mean, as soon as it gets the sun, you know, it starts getting light out even before the sun’s up. The eagles are already flying. out a lot of times, and, and when you’re ready to go home and it’s getting dark, the Eagles are still active. Mm-hmm. So those are two major times, but. but Uh, You can be there anytime. You never know. I, I mean, I might sit for an hour, hour and a half waiting on an eagle to fly out of a tree. Uh, that’s, uh, photography’s taught me patience. And, Uh, that’s probably a good quality to have. But you can freeze your butt off your fingers, off, your face, off everything else, you know, it’s winter time in Iowa and I was shooting. the other day, and it was, it was, you know. Below zero, there’s no doubt. And I stood out there for I think two hours.

Justin Brady: So you’re very much a thick, insulated stuff. You’re sitting out there in wind, sometimes you have the hand warmers and all that stuff to get some of these shots. You are just sitting there. Yeah, kinda like a sniper or something is kind of, except you’re shooting film. Not, not

Ron Maggard: Yeah. Now I, I’ve got hand warmers. I’ve got, uh, gloves that are insulated or they, they’re liners that are battery operated. I’ve got a vest that’s VA battery operated and

Justin Brady: idea.

Ron Maggard: You know, so, and then you just layer, layer, layer.

Justin Brady: you mentioned when you’re photographing eagles here in Iowa, you mentioned eagle fights. Oh yes. What is this?

Ron Maggard: Uh, a lot of times and it’s kind of fun to watch, but they’ll end up and they’ll watch, uh, eagle get a fish, and then. if it’s a nice fish or it don’t even have to be a nice fish if another eagle. They’re out there for the easy meal so that other eagle’s already done the work. The others will come, in sometimes and they’ll try to, I’ve got shots where they’re grabbing their arms and the fish is falling. in between ’em and Oh yeah, it’s, it’s interesting. I love that.

Justin Brady: So Eagles when they, one, one catches a fish and the other tries to steal it, they, they’re kind of territorial, it sounds, or, or they have like a pecking order. No pun intended. Maybe pun

Ron Maggard: Well, I tell you what, uh, I don’t know if there is a pecking order like uh, monkeys or whatever would have, but The young juvenile eagles will end up and, uh, there armory. And They will end up and try to, take it from an adult so that that really doesn’t say anything about your pecking order. If a juvenile’s gonna come in and take it over. an adult, but they will. It is just fun to watch. They

Justin Brady: don’t ever like kill, is it, is it more just like fighting or, or do some of them try to like kill the other one to

Ron Maggard: steal No, They’re not killing them. The,

Justin Brady: They’re just trying to fight and ex

Ron Maggard: Yeah. they’re trying to, I’ve, I’ve got pictures of, there were one day there were three eagles on, a branch, uh, two eagles on the branch. the one eagle came in with a fish in between these other two and they were closer than you and I are. Well, this guy on the back of the tree was eyeing that middle. eagle with a fish, and he finally ends up, comes up and goes onto that eagle. He’s got a hold of his leg. Mm-hmm. Like this as. as they’re falling out of the tree. And that other eagle, he held onto it. He never let it go. He had it in his mouth at that point. And

Justin Brady: I didn’t understand the, the, the dynamics here. Um, but I didn’t understand how, like, this is kind of a crazy show. You could probably bring your family, have like a winter picnic and just eagle watch. This could be a

Ron Maggard: It’d be, it’d be a cold picnic. But yes, you could do, that for

Justin Brady: we go to like Iowa and Iowa state games and Northern Iowa games in the middle of the winter. We can go Eagle watching. You know,

Ron Maggard: and a lot of times there are. People out there with cell phones and you know, just looking at the Eagles. Yeah. the only thing on a photographer’s side is you don’t want to get too close to the eagle to scare them off. It’s illegal to Go well. I think it’s 300 feet or something like that. maybe it’s a hundred feet, 300 feet of a nest. Okay. So You’re supposed to give that. eagle respect and not, not. Disrupt them. And uh, a lot of times some people will walk up underneath with a cell phone and scare The eagles out of the tree. So you’re disturbing an eagle. when you do that. You’re not

Justin Brady: get within 300 feet of an eagle nest.

Ron Maggard: Uh, I maybe it’s a hundred. Yeah. I, I don’t know, but

Justin Brady: can Google it. But this is, this, it raises an interesting question. If you’re not supposed, let me rephrase this. If you’re not supposed to get within a cer, like a hundred, 300 feet, whatever that is, to an eagle nest. How did they get the cameras positioned on these eagle nests here in Iowa?

Ron Maggard: I don’t know if they do that during off season Uhhuh, you know, and that’s possible. Uh, I don’t know how close to that nest that they have got that camera, you know? I don’t, Yeah. I don’t know.

Justin Brady: Interesting. So speaking about these eagle nests, how big are they? Because it’s kind of hard to judge the size of them from a photograph or a video. Yeah.

Ron Maggard: I think, uh, I was just looking at one the other day and I, as far as this room, I bet it was 12 feet. Around what? 12 feet? Around 12 feet? It might’ve been. bigger than that. It was huge. Huge. There was somebody standing in the middle of it.

Justin Brady: Oh my gosh.

Ron Maggard: but It was one of the biggest ones. I think

Justin Brady: a single nest.

Ron Maggard: a single nest they build year after. year. They just keep adding to that. Uh, and There have been nests that have fallen outta trees because the nests have gotten so heavy.

Justin Brady: Holy. So 12 eagerness. I, I always thinking

Ron Maggard: say it was probably three, four foot, high, three foot high and 12 foot round.

Justin Brady: foot. So these eagerness here in Iowa are like bigger than a king size bed. By a

Ron Maggard: that one might’ve been, yeah. Now a lot of the eagle nest I see. aren’t probably any bigger than this table, or they’re smaller than this table. But, you know, we haven’t had eagles for the years that some of these other states have had. You know, I mean, if I was 50 when they first started coming, I’m 67 now, so that’s 17 years I’ve been seeing Eagles. But, uh. You know, these other states have had eagles, Alaska, you know, Canada, you know, uh, they’ve had ’em for years. So that’s more time to build, keep building and adding onto that nest.

Justin Brady: Yeah, I didn’t know Eagles, like, kind of like people kind of, they keep adding onto their property. Do Eagles return to the same nest then?

Ron Maggard: Uh, A lot of times they do, but uh, there are nests that were built one year. and they don’t end up and come back the next year. And I don’t know why that is. They Just kind of badden, badden that nest.

Justin Brady: Yeah, that’s, huh? I, I, I guess I didn’t understand. I didn’t, well, first of all, I didn’t understand how absolutely enormous these eagle nest are. Um, but you, you mentioned something interesting, which was, you said other states and other regions have had eagles and eagle watching opportunities for quite some time, but Iowa’s more new to it. Why is that?

Ron Maggard: Uh, I don’t know if it was, you know, it, it’s because the Eagles, I Don’t know now, maybe, you know? I’ve only been doing photography like nine years, So I don’t know. What happened during those other years, but it was You They could have been coming down all that time and I just didn’t know it. Oh,

Justin Brady: got it.

Ron Maggard: it. cause I haven’t. been around, but I, and I didn’t live next to a river, you know, I live out in the middle of farm ground, Iowa, you know, so never seen one until I was 50

Justin Brady: With the a hundred because you’re not supposed to get like a hundred or 300 feet, whatever it is, to an Eagle nest. Then if someone’s trying to do camera photography with their cell phone, I imagine that’s a little bit more difficult then, because not all the phones, some, some have these cool zoom things, but not all the phones have like the zoom lens that you might be using. Right. Right. How big is that lens that you use?

Ron Maggard: Uh, I’ve got a couple of ’em. I got one of ’em that’s a, um, it’s a 400 Oh, millimeter and then, I can double it or go up to 800 millimeters, which is quite a ways out there. It brings in a lot of it. And then I’ve got a 500 mil too. So,

Justin Brady: which explains why some of these shots, ’cause I was looking at your website, some of these shots are, it feels like you’re right on top of ’em

Ron Maggard: and, and some, and that’s actually cropping in Sure. After I’ve taken the picture. Mm-hmm. But Some sometimes you’ll. end up and cut the wings off. Mm-hmm. You know when you’re taking the picture if the bird gets too close.

Justin Brady: Sure. So the big, if people want to take their own photos of Eagles or do eagle watching, basically the name of the game is active water in below freezing temperatures. Because when the water freezes in other areas, that forces the Eagles to the active water areas. So we kind of know where they are and sit and be patient.

Ron Maggard: Yeah. Um. if you go down to Red Rock, you can find them in the trees. They’re at Red Rock, and sometimes you can be standing underneath a tree and you’ll have an eagle flying right over the top of you and land in the tree that you’re. Right underneath or right next to you, you know, so they’re pretty, uh, custom to people walking the trail over there. Um, you know, there are are places on the other side where they, they sat and they wait, but. People, If they’d stay on the trail. there wouldn’t be a problem. But a lot of people go underneath them and then it’ll scare ’em out

Justin Brady: Oh, sure.

Ron Maggard: Yeah. I want everybody to get pictures of, eagles. I’d just like for everybody to respect the eagle and not get too close to ’em to scare ’em out of a tree.

Justin Brady: are there things that often surprise people when they do go Eagle watching, or when they do eagle photography? Are there some top things that they’re like, Ron, I had no idea Eagles did this.

Ron Maggard: You, you see him poop every now and then. I ended up and posted a picture with, uh, uh, evergreen tree and, and my mom lives in the country. No river right next to her, but they love one. Evergreen tree that we have on that property. And anyway, he ended up and, and poop. So you got your string of poop coming down. And I put on, I posted it at Christmas time that our Christmas tree was finally getting decorated. That’s good.

Justin Brady: good.

Ron Maggard: Uh, And that’s something that you don’t see every day. You, you don’t see ’em steal a fish from each other every day. A lot of people see ’em just sitting in a tree, but they don’t see ’em catching that fish or losing the, fish or. You know, they’re there are a lot of cool shots.

Justin Brady: It’s crazy to me. I I think a lot of people generally have an idea that Eagle’s eyesight is really good,

Ron Maggard: eagle. Mm-hmm.

Justin Brady: but it’s crazy to me that they do, they kind of swirl up in the air and then they’re able to see fish through the water and then they just like dive bomb in there and grab ’em out of the water. Is this basically what they’re doing?

Ron Maggard: Yeah. Yeah. An eagle will skim the water more, You know, they’ll come down. at a, at kind of an angle and they’ll pick it up with their feet like this. An osprey will dive into The water and their feet are, are, their claws are out like that as they dive and they’ll go underwater to grab a fish.

Justin Brady: osprey. Will Osprey. So eagles are, to catch fish. Eagles are skimming the top and grabbing it off. Um, when, when the fish is really close to the surface. But ospreys are going down into the water

Ron Maggard: to catch fish. Yes. Yeah. Um, uh, uh, and that’s, that’s why when a fish Goes over the roller dam, or goes through a dam, they kind of get stunned uhhuh and uh and that’s makes easy pickens for the eagles as well.

Justin Brady: oh. So there’s talk then downtown, at least of getting rid of the dams. Right? There’s been, and I don’t know how far those plans have gone. I have no clue. But there is talks of getting rid of the roller dams. So if they were to do that, would that basically get rid of a lot of eagle activity? I

Ron Maggard: the Eagles would move. They wouldn’t be here. They’ve gotta have that open water. And as Iowa has been up until this last week we really haven’t had any cold spells for a long period of time in Iowa. So our eagle. season is actually just starting now. Uh. You know, we’ve had, I don’t know how many days of ze degree weather, but it’s talking into the weekend, So things are getting froze up now. I see that a lot of the rivers are still, have some open water to them, but lakes are pretty much froze and, uh, so I can’t remember what your question was.

Justin Brady: No, you answered it. If we were getting rid of the roller dam, would the eagles go away?

Ron Maggard: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Or they’ll, they’ll move to where there’s. open water.

Justin Brady: Yeah. Um, it, it’s absolutely, as I’ve looked at your work, you do more than eagles. Yes, sir. And as you illustrated, the eagle watching is basically active water somewhere in Iowa during freezing temperatures. Yeah. That’s all over the place. ’cause Iowa has a lot of streams and a lot of bridges and a lot of activity. What are kind of the, because you’ve been like every corner of this state, and you’re a wildlife photographer, you take a lot of photos of portraits too, but because you’ve been to all corners of this state, are there some hidden gems that you’re like, this place is truly beautiful in Iowa and most people just don’t know about it?

Ron Maggard: Um, as far as eagle

Justin Brady: No. As far as just like as far as, um. As far as just landscape or beautiful corners of the state, are there any

Ron Maggard: like

Justin Brady: top places in Iowa that are just really beautiful that most Iowans aren’t even aware of?

Ron Maggard: Well, I. don’t know that I could really point out to any certain spot because I do, I love coming to Des Moines and filming the city. You know, I like, uh oh. I, I. I like the Milky Way, but I always like to put something in the picture, you know? So whether it’s a church or a tractor or something that’ll add to that photo to bring it more to life kind of thing. But Iowa’s full of beauty. All you really have to do is just look around. And I’ve been to a few other states that, you know what? I didn’t think there would be much in Arizona at the time when I went down there. And my God, it just opened my eyes to how beautiful a desert can

Justin Brady: Mm-hmm.

Ron Maggard: You know? So you find beauty. anywhere you go. Yeah, no, that’s, or I do,

Justin Brady: a lot of, no, there’s a lot of truth to that for sure. Are there any favorite locations in Iowa that you like to snap pictures? Any like kind of areas that are just like your favorite spots?

Ron Maggard: Um, no, I, I probably Des Moines one of my favorite spots. I Could Des Moines. I mean, I, I like coming to Des Moines and doing things here. Uh, we got a beautiful skyline. We’ve got a beautiful capital. I don’t know how you Can’t like the city, you know?

Justin Brady: it’s true. Um, what are the, I guess, final thoughts here, like what are the things that either rookie photographers or even cell phone camera photographers that are trying to snap pictures of eagles or wildlife in general, if, if there was like one one thing that you could coach every cell phone photographer and even kind of semi-pro photographer to change, what would be that thing?

Ron Maggard: Uh, It wouldn’t be to change anybody. Uh, what I would do is say whatever whatever you’ve got in your hand, whether it’s a cell phone, whether it’s a camera, just get out there and take pictures.

Justin Brady: Yeah. Simple,

Ron Maggard: you know? Yeah. Very simple. Enjoy. Enjoy the moment.

Justin Brady: Yeah. Are there any tips for like all the Insta, because everyone does have a camera now. Oh yeah. And what I always, you know what’s fascinating is with the advent of cell phone cameras and cameras in everyone’s pocket, I feel like photographers got more work. ’cause people all of a sudden understood the value of good photography. But for the people who are kind of just the hobbyists, they just wanna snap pictures. Are there any tips, uh, final thoughts to leave with them to improve their photography game and get better shots?

Ron Maggard: Uh, the, I don’t know. When it all comes

Justin Brady: I’m gonna put, I’m gonna pump you for information here. I have a professional in the studio. I’m gonna ask,

Ron Maggard: I don’t know what you’re really wanting. You know, if you’re shooting Milky Way is one way to shoot You’re shooting people. It’s another way to shoot you’re shooting action. Uh, it’s another way to shoot. There’s too many things that I can’t, other than just get out there and do it. Yeah. You know?

Justin Brady: Yeah. Awesome. I guess anything I didn’t ask about Eagle watching before I let you go? ’cause I’m a newbie at this, so any, any last tips if people wanna go, Eagle watching or eagle uh, photographing, any last tips for them to know?

Ron Maggard: Iowa is a wonderland, Mm. you know, I mean, we’ve. got Neil Smith, you know, for short eared owls. We got elk, we got buffalo, we got eagles all over Iowa. When it comes down to it, there are a couple of my favorite locations. Our red. Um, Des Moines, uh, tailwaters West in Coralville and Sunset Park in Illinois. I love those areas. You can get pretty close shots and, uh, just get out there and enjoy and give the eagle respect where you’re not walking underneath. them to take a picture.

Justin Brady: Really. Yeah, it’s, it’s awesome. Ron Maggard, professional photographer, of course based here in Iowa. If people wanna reach out to you and see your stuff or maybe even hire you for some work, how do they do that?

Ron Maggard: Um, uh, ron maggard photography.com is my website and you can get in touch with me through that. I do Portraits. I. do families, I do uh, landscape, I do eagles, I do action. I do, uh, the mounted shooting events where they shoot the balloons off of the horses. Really? Yeah. I do a Lot of that. I’ve done, uh, a lot of the barrel racing and, uh, I enjoy action. I really do.

Justin Brady: Well, um, I, I really appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for coming on the Iowa Podcast. Well, thank

Ron Maggard: you. Appreciate it.