A Day With The Junaluska Eagles
Mar 06, 2026
The day had not started the way we planned. Someone in our group woke up sick, and the adventure we had mapped out had to be scrapped. When my buddy David Berryhill arrived, we looked at each other, and I said, “Well, it’s too beautiful a day to waste. Let’s go find some wildlife.”
So we pointed the truck toward the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The mountains were glowing under a Carolina blue sky when David suddenly said, “Hey, aren’t there bald eagles at Lake Junaluska?”
“There sure are,” I said, turning the wheel.
We rolled into Lake Junaluska and started scanning the shoreline. It didn’t take long before we spotted the nest and one of the eagles perched high in a tree. My excitement quickly turned to concern. The bird was buried behind a maze of branches, and no matter how I shifted my position, I couldn’t get a clean shot.
Meanwhile, David was grinning ear to ear, holding up his cellphone, snapping photos, and texting them to friends and family like a kid on Christmas morning.
So I waited.
Wildlife photography rewards patience, and patience finally paid off. Suddenly, the second eagle appeared, and the pair began circling the nest, dancing through the sky and hopping from branch to branch. Wings spread wide against the clouds, power and grace all in one moment.
Then it happened. One of them launched from a branch, wings stretched, calling out across the water.
Click.
God’s artistry, frozen in a fraction of a second.
Moments like this remind me how blessed and humbled I am to witness these wild places and share them with you.
