Debra LaValley's Blog

“A Bear! A Bear!”

This morning, I picked up my mom to take her to breakfast before we went grocery shopping. On the way to Market Basket – I said that I wanted to go by Horseshoe Pond to see if the Peregrine falcon that I had seen the past two days was there.
We get near the pond, and I spot a young bald eagle (first year) in a tree by the pond. It stopped and started taking photos of the eagle from across the street.

A woman who was walking by doing her morning exercise – stopped to see what I was taking a photo of. She was impressed by the eagle and continued down the road. All of a sudden, I hear her yelling something. I look toward her as she walks quickly back toward me and she shouts and points down the road “A bear! A bear!” I took the quick shot of the bear by the stop sign just down the road from me and a few more shots as it moved off and then continued taking more photos of the eagle.

My first wild bear shots ever. I was shaking a bit from excitement and didn’t have a chance to change the setting of my camera – so not as sharp as I wish. We passed a birder down the other end of the pond – who missed the eagle but saw another black object far across the field (it turned out to be another bear with 2 cubs). My mom and I finished shopping and spun by the pond again on the way back home and then back toward Penacook.

Right before Concord Group – I saw the bear run away from the road along the building. I yelled “Bear!” and pulled into the side parking lot and parked. The bear was not far from us and he was trying to get away from the road. I could not take a photo because my camera and phone were in the back of the RAV4. I couldn’t get them because the bear was only about 30-40 feet from us. He climbed the fence – jumped onto a tree and headed toward the Lutheran Church.

I got my camera out and swung down toward the Pierce Manse (I can’t remember the street name). We drove toward the Lutheran church, but before we got there we saw the bear in someone’s back yard. I got my camera (I had my 500 mm lens – so I was not as close as it looks. I was very careful and was behind my car with the door open). The bear walked in front of a garage and ran toward another yard. The man from the house with the garage came out and closed one of his doors as we told him the bear was in the next yard. What an experience! I have always wanted to snap a photo of a wild bear. They aren’t as sharp as I would like – but I will take it! I am still surging with adrenaline! Click on my Flickr photostream, if you wish to see more photos of the bear and the eagle.
My favorite of the bear shots is below. It is slightly cropped.

I am so glad that I put the camera with the 150-500 mm lens in the back of my car this morning! Always be prepared! 🙂