Susan Maxwell Skinner

Susan Maxwell Skinner My photojournalist adventures on the American River, Sacramento County, California. Let's learn together.

EVERYBODY - TAKE TIME TO STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS:And nobody say - awwwww...
05/09/2026

EVERYBODY - TAKE TIME TO STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS:
And nobody say - awwwww...

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER NEST:The Balds are three nests into 2026. New Year storms took care of their their 10-season leani...
05/09/2026

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER NEST:
The Balds are three nests into 2026. New Year storms took care of their their 10-season leaning abode. A rapidly-built February nest was abandoned after the death of two eaglets.
Last week I found the couple throwing a new cradle together. And now, there's a third eyrie under construction in yet another location. Today I watched Mama plucking pine needles and found her in a pine that provides a suitable crotch and water lookout.
I've no idea if this is a future nursery.This couple might be still traumatized by back-to-back tragedies; maybe installing lumber fills their childless days and rebuilds their bond. Their nesting instinct is evidently very strong.
As always in my 10 years of eagle watching, I'll not disclose this nest location.

AMERICAN RIVER DOOR DASH:Nice one, Mama. Sorry for the poor, distant view. There's only so much reach, even for a big le...
05/06/2026

AMERICAN RIVER DOOR DASH:
Nice one, Mama. Sorry for the poor, distant view. There's only so much reach, even for a big lens.
With no babies to feed, the Balds are pleasing and feeding themselves. Favorite high branches and binocular vision provide the best fish-spotting opportunities.
The catch doesn't reach a nest. Al fresco is the preference - and fish don't get more fresco than this!

IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING:The river's a mirror in tonight's golden twilight. After a busy day of hunting and nest-build...
04/28/2026

IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING:
The river's a mirror in tonight's golden twilight. After a busy day of hunting and nest-building, Mama alights below the Love Tree. The river's low; exposed rocks allow cool ankle bathing.
A paddle-boarder glides by. Her cell phone appears briefly. It's a beautiful memory to save!

SKINNER ALUMNI MOM'S DAY SHOW: Nearly SOLD OUT:People often tell me their moms loved to dance to the John Skinner Band. ...
04/26/2026

SKINNER ALUMNI MOM'S DAY SHOW: Nearly SOLD OUT:
People often tell me their moms loved to dance to the John Skinner Band. I feel old!
In the band's heyday, John fielded the workingest pro-ensemble in Sacramento. Scores of local musicians honed chops on on the Vietnam veteran's bandstands.
In 1997, he assembled his combo and cut a first CD at Paradise Studios, Sacramento. This sold out several reprints and was followed by two more Skinner albums.
On May 10, a septet of Skinner alumni will recreate the first CD at Twin Lotus Thai restaurant. Three of our original recording musicians (Tom Hannickel, Chris Pollacchi and I) will be joined by Skinner Band stalwarts Kurt Pearsall, Joe Gilman, Brandon Mathew, and Brian Kendrick.
We'll dedicate the performance to departed heroes John Skinner, Roger Gosline and Jeff Bond, whose contributions were critical to this CD's success. Our 5 pm set is close to sold out, 7 pm has more availability. Please make the Skinner Alumni Septet show a family outing for Mothers Day. All mums get a free copy of the CD!
Reservations: https://www.twinlotusthai.com/.../mothers-day-show-the...

OH MY GORSHK - I YAM WOMAN! So I'm giving a talk about my eagle photography for retired teachers in East Sacramento. I m...
04/25/2026

OH MY GORSHK - I YAM WOMAN!
So I'm giving a talk about my eagle photography for retired teachers in East Sacramento. I mention hauling and hand-holding my camera and hefty 600 mm lens. I make a muscle at the audience - as you do. And naturally, that's the picture the East Sacramento News uses -- and they cunningly pop my lumber-hauling eagle pic in behind me.
Hey, Urban Flex gym trainer Bean Harrah - do I get a like?
Read the story at: https://www.eastsacramentonews.com/2026/04/22/569913/eagle-presentation-inspires-sacramento-retired-teachers

WHOA - DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!I can't believe I didn't see this beautiful Coopers hawk while I was busy clickin' on the ...
04/25/2026

WHOA - DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!
I can't believe I didn't see this beautiful Coopers hawk while I was busy clickin' on the big gal and her lumber. Sometimes you can't see the bird for the bird.

DEJA VU - ALL OVER AGAIN: photos taken yesterday, Friday. Could this be nest #3 for our indefatigable American River B...
04/25/2026

DEJA VU - ALL OVER AGAIN: photos taken yesterday, Friday.
Could this be nest #3 for our indefatigable American River Balds? Mama and Papa labored hard, quite a distance from where their last chick perished earlier this week.
I spied them up-river hunting; Mama caught a fat trout. Mid-way through devouring it, she suddenly dropped the prize and winged far across the river to Papa. Here, the couple spent the rest of the afternoon hauling lumber and grass into a smallish pine crotch.
Their previous bluff-side nest seems to have been abandoned.
From an overwhelming drive to reproduce, we have previously seen this couple begin what seemed like preliminary nests.
It's critically late in the season. As adults, these birds have no other purpose in life other than to hunt, eat and reproduce - and be happy - I hope.
Still, I hope our Balds will not attempt another clutch in this new tree. If so, their babies might not fly till late July. Our Balds are resilient. But triple-digit temperatures might be horrendously challenging for the protection of tender new eaglets.

NO NEWS=BAD NEWS:The Balds' nest is uninhabited in this morning's heavy rain. The parents are in the area but currently ...
04/21/2026

NO NEWS=BAD NEWS:
The Balds' nest is uninhabited in this morning's heavy rain. The parents are in the area but currently absent from the eyrie. I feel that fellow photographer Jann Nichols' and my conclusions, from last night, are vindicated.

NOW THERE ARE TWO:Three days ago, my friend Jann Nichols and I watched Papa and Mama Bald feeding (at least) one eager b...
04/21/2026

NOW THERE ARE TWO:
Three days ago, my friend Jann Nichols and I watched Papa and Mama Bald feeding (at least) one eager baby. Today, in six hours of cold weather, no eaglet was fed. No fluffy head bobbed. No Tiny cheeps sounded. No parent hunkered to warm a tender hatchling, even when wind rose and cool raindrops fell.
Jann and I believe the new nest no longer contains a living baby. By some tragedy of Nature, it seems both 2026 eaglets have perished.
This is the cruelest blow in a season of heartbreak for the resilient Balds. They labored to replace a lost nest in time for these precious babies to hatch - about two weeks ago.
For most of this afternoon, Papa kept vigil below the nest. Mama returned at 5 pm. Our hopes rose because she brought a bouquet of pine needles, then she bent to take a few mouthfuls of fish.
But beyond carefully placing the greenery, she barely regarded the nursery mattress. Then she flew.
Before 6 pm, she returned to join Papa on a lower branch. The couple sat closely in the gloom for more than 30 minutes. Then they both winged into the dark canyon.

THREADING THE NEEDLE:It's not easy to photograph a 12-day-old eaglet through the clutter of a nest rim. The infants lie ...
04/18/2026

THREADING THE NEEDLE:
It's not easy to photograph a 12-day-old eaglet through the clutter of a nest rim. The infants lie low until feeding time. Then their tiny heads bob about like hula dolls on a dashboard.
From a big distance, a photographer focuses on micro-spots within a tangle of nesting wood.
My technique is to squint, pray and click. And keep clicking. This policy yields a couple of frames -- and scores of blurry rejects -- from five hours on the bluffs today.
Hardly National Geographic - but visions of tenderness.
That is the nature of Nature photography!

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