February 19th, I headed about an hour and half down to Gibson to go on a tour in search of Bald Eagles on the Cajun Man's Swamp Tour. This is no normal tour since it’s catered towards birdwatchers and photographers. You’ll want to contact Captain Billy to secure your spot. I think there was about 10 or so people on the tour, enough room for everyone to spread out and get their photos.
I mainly used the Nikon D5 with a 200-400mm and eventually used a 1.4 teleconverter. I also had my Nikon D800 that started with the 70-200mm but ended up switching to the 20mm F1.8. I had a few other lenses with me but didn’t use those but brought them just in case. I had my monopod but didn’t end up using since we were able to walk about on the boat. But thinking about it, I should’ve used the monopod to increase stability and reduce strain.
We had some rainy days recently so I’m glad it cleared up but still had clouds for more dramatic photos. The landscape photos enjoyed taking with the new 20mm.
We saw alligators of various stages of life all at different parts of the tour. I wouldn’t want to be stuck out in the swamp after dark that’s for sure.
We saw a lot of eagles at different nesting sites. But they were often way off in the distance and almost out of reach with lens. I recommend having a teleconverter with you or having a lens with a lot of reach. Ideally 500mm or more for the eagles. A 70-200mm might be good to have on another body for the closer animals but often things happen so quick that you may miss out on the photo trying to reach for the other body.
Ending the tour with a sunset on the swamp was truly beautiful. It got dark pretty fast and it was very eerie as we make our way back to land. It was worth the drive and the price of admission to see all these beautiful animals! I would again highly recommend taking a drive and experiencing it for yourself.
