\nAn eagle that didn\u2019t fly away<\/p>\n
A quiet drive to work turned into an unforgettable wildlife encounter for\u00a0Kleefeld\u00a0photographer\u00a0Sandee Klassen Erickson, and now, a photo from that moment is getting noticed around the world.<\/p>\n
Erickson recently received a\u00a0Contender Award\u00a0from the international photography website\u00a0ViewBug\u00a0for a striking image of a bald eagle feeding on a deer just outside\u00a0Kleefeld. The photo was taken\u00a0nearly a\u00a0year ago, on\u00a0January 23, 2025, but the memory is still vivid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was on my way to work, just outside of\u00a0Kleefeld\u00a0off Ridge Road, and I just happened to come across this.\u201d<\/p>\n
An eagle enjoying a meal, just feet from photographer Sandee Klassen Erickson (Photo credit: Sandee Klassen Erickson)
\nAn eagle that didn\u2019t fly away<\/p>\n
The eagle was in the ditch beside the road, along with several others and some blackbirds,\u00a0feeding on\u00a0a deer. When Erickson pulled up, most of the birds took off, but one stayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just kept going like I wasn\u2019t even there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson then rolled down her window and began taking photos when something unexpected happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of a sudden, he left the deer, and he came and walked over,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was about 15 feet away from me\u2026 my window was open, and he just sat there, and he looked at me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She says the moment\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0feel threatening at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was\u00a0almost like\u00a0he was trying to tell me something. I don’t know if he was curious about me, but he kind of left me wondering, what is he trying to tell me? But, it really seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson adds, “It was really quite an honour. So, I named the image “Honoured”.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Award-winning image taken with a phone\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the powerful image, Erickson didn\u2019t\u00a0use her professional camera gear that day, just her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used my Samsung S24 Ultra; it\u2019s got an amazing camera on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She admits a larger camera might have captured different details, but says the phone\u00a0still\u00a0delivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one actually does quite well,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Why this photo stood out\u00a0<\/p>\n
Erickson says she chose this specific image to submit to the Viewbug website because it captured the eagle\u2019s personality and\u00a0behaviour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just gave the character of the eagle on the deer. This showed exactly what he had been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the detail of the eagle\u2019s beak stood out.\u00a0\u201cYeah, he was definitely having lunch,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n
Photograph taken by Sandee Klassen Erickson of a young eagle.\u00a0
\nRecognition from around the world\u00a0<\/p>\n
Erickson has been part of the\u00a0ViewBug<\/a>\u00a0photography community for several years and regularly\u00a0submits\u00a0her\u00a0favourite\u00a0images. This one earned her a\u00a0Contender Award<\/a>, which means it stood out among thousands of photos\u00a0submitted.<\/p>\n She tells us what this means to her.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s about more recognition,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt opens a few more doors. It was selected among thousands of pictures worldwide, and I believe\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a contender for a greater prize.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0no major cash prize attached, the award still means a lot. \u201cFor me, this is a hobby,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n A lifelong love of nature photography\u00a0<\/p>\n Erickson says she spends a lot of time outdoors and focuses mostly on animal and scenic photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI spend a lot of time in the bush, so I come across a lot of different animals, deer, eagles, and I even have an owl that comes to visit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She says moments like this motivate her to keep going.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely is encouraging,\u201d she said. \u201cI have more photos I want to\u00a0submit. I just\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0done it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n For Erickson, photography\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0about chasing fame; it\u2019s\u00a0about the experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a job for me,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s something I\u2019ve loved doing all my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And sometimes, all it takes is a drive to work and an eagle willing to stay put to make one’s day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n *All images in the gallery below are courtesy of Sandee Klassen Erickson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A quiet drive to work turned into an unforgettable wildlife encounter for\u00a0Kleefeld\u00a0photographer\u00a0Sandee Klassen Erickson, and now, a photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-437675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Photograph of a Pheasant in fall taken by Sandee Klassen Erickson.<\/p>\n