Photographer Patiently Waits for 8 Hours to Capture Rare Shot of the 'Ghost of the Ozarks' in Missouri
With a pounding heart, trembling fingers, and adrenaline rushing through his veins, wildlife photographer Terry Nunn (@terrynunnphotography) waited eight long hours, hoping it would come closer so he could capture a beautiful shot. For the past few weeks, Nunn had been obsessed with capturing the rare white bald eagles in the area. In late February, he drove once again to Southwest Missouri to catch a glimpse of these remarkable birds.
Patience paid off. Later in the day, an opportunity presented itself. His Canon gear was already set up. So while the young female dive-bombed through the air and perched on a treetop, he snapped a series of photographs from flight to majestic plumage that eventually caught media attention and started making the rounds on the internet, leaving viewers dazed with awe, wonder, and curiosity. The word “grateful,” he said, doesn’t even begin to describe this experience, let alone capture the beauty in its full, unfiltered scope. "Standing there watching the 'Ghost of the Ozarks'—the breathtaking leucistic bald eagle—lift off into the air from some distant trees, then proceed to fly right by me, I could literally feel my hands shaking," he wrote on Instagram.
Dubbed “Ghosts of the Ozarks,” the leucistic white bald eagles are known for a rare genetic condition, leucism, that results in unusual red eyes and a complete lack of melanin, causing spotted skin, as explained by the National Eagle Center and Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. With clusters of blonde feathers and white tails, these raptors cut through the skies, swooping down to catch fish, their fierce gaze locking the fish in a death grip. A hood of bone protects their body from the Sun's glare, and a pointed beak in mango-yellow color helps them butcher and chop the fish into tiny pieces for the ease of eating, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Nunn has photographed several of these eagles before, but this time proved even more exciting than previous encounters. It was like, “No guarantees. No shortcuts. Just patience,” as he described on Instagram. As luck would have it, his prayers were answered. "I spent 8 hours watching her fly to a few different trees just hoping she would come a little closer. Finally late in the day she came within a couple hundred yards which is the best opportunity I had gotten in my trips over there," the photographer wrote. “These are some of the photos I’m most proud of in my entire photography career. Not because they’re perfect, but because of what it took to make them and the subject,” he added.
The shots he captured vary in the eagle’s positioning, background, and movement. Some shots depict her in flight through the azure skies, while others show her looking sideways from a treetop, with tangles of spindly branches masking her pale profile. The encounter was special. Nunn said, "I’ve photographed a lot of wildlife, but this was different. Rare. Powerful. Once in a lifetime."
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