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Doc Ellen

@docellen.bsky.social

Nature photographer. The balance of nature between humans and all that surrounds us drives my journey. The behavior of living entities - such as those with feathers, scales, fur, leaves or skin - fascinates me. https://etsy.com/shop/DocEllenImages

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Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 2w ago

Captain Doug and I drifted quietly into a cove and discovered a four-year-old bald eagle above us. He saw the humans. He simply had more important things to watch. We never did figure out what. 🦉

Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · last mo.

I was sitting quietly at the boat ramp, as I often do, when I sneezed. Not a great big sneeze. Just one of those quick, sharp little sneezes. I had no idea there was a Great Blue Heron on the far side of this pine tree. Apparently, he had no idea I was there, either. ACHOO. Suddenly, there he was. 🦉

Great Blue Heron suddenly peeking around the trunk of a pine tree, its long neck stretched forward and one bright eye fixed toward the camera.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Back to the wild — after a quick bath! An adult Bald Eagle returns home at Jordan Lake following rehabilitation by the Carolina Raptor Center. August 3, 2026.🦉

Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A quiet morning. Bare toes curled over the edge of a porch step. And memories of some of the places those bare feet have taken me. This Sunday’s Open the Door story is Toes — What my bare feet remember. Listen beginning Sunday at 5:00 AM at docellen.substack.com.

Mint-green announcement graphic for the Open the Door audio series. Title: “Toes.” Subtitle: “what my bare feet remember.” A small microphone icon appears above “Open the Door audio series.” The graphic identifies the storyteller as Doc Ellen Tinsley, says there is a new story every Sunday, that the stories will always be free, and gives the address docellen.substack.com.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Bounce. The whole nest shook. Two young Bald Eagles. One increasingly small nest. This week's Open the Door follows those youngsters from bouncing and branching to that first extraordinary leap into open air. 🎙️ Bald Eagle Bounce — Leap from Nest to Sky🦉 Listen free at: docellen.substack.com

Mint-green promotional graphic for the Open the Door audio series. Title: “Bald Eagle Bounce.” Subtitle: “Leap from Nest to Sky.” A small microphone symbol appears above information about the weekly storytelling series by Doc Ellen Tinsley.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

TWO REHABILITATED BALD EAGLES WILL BE RETURNING TO THE WILD! Rehabilitated by the Carolina Raptor Center, they will be released (weather permitting) 📅 Monday, August 3 🕦 Gates open at 11:30 a.m. 📍 Vista Point Boat Ramp, Jordan Lake 🚫 No drones. Photos shown are mine - NOT the eagles being released.🦉

Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Even though nesting season is over, this Great Egret still wears the last of its breeding plumes. Their reddish tint comes from North Carolina's red clay, not the feathers themselves. Long-legged birds often rest on one leg, with the other tucked safely into their feathers. 📍Jordan Lake, NC🦉

Even though nesting season is over, this Great Egret still wears the last of its breeding plumes. Their reddish tint comes from North Carolina's red clay, not the feathers themselves. Long-legged birds often rest on one leg, with the other tucked safely into their feathers. 📍Jordan Lake, NC
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It's easy to think Mom Osprey is stretching. She isn't. On a blistering summer day, Mom becomes a living umbrella, spreading her wings to shade the chicks/eggs beneath her. She's panting because she's hot too. Dad sometimes takes over, but Mom is usually the umbrella because she's the larger bird.🦉

An adult female osprey stands over her nest on top of a weathered dead tree, wings spread to shade the chicks beneath her during a hot summer day. Her open beak shows she is panting in the heat.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I looked at the bald eagle's talons, still carrying the mud from wherever she'd been before she landed. It made me think about us humans and our old saying about having feet of clay. Here I was, watching a bald eagle with feet of mud... but it wasn't her feet I envied. It was her wings.🦉

Adult bald eagle perched on a broken tree trunk, muddy talons wrapped around the wood as it gazes to the left. Fresh green leaves fill the background on an overcast summer day.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

How do you tell the sky no? Sometimes the answer comes in a small vintage airplane. This week's Open the Door is about a flight I have never forgotten, a moment of turbulence, and the lesson that stayed with me long after the wheels touched the ground. 🎧 New audio story: docellen.substack.com

Promotional cover for Doc Ellen Tinsley's Open the Door audio series. The teal cover features the title "How Do You Tell the Sky No" in large black serif lettering. Below it reads: "A small vintage airplane. A moment of turbulence. A sky I have never forgotten." The lower portion identifies the series, storyteller Doc Ellen Tinsley, notes that a new story is published every Sunday, and includes the address docellen.substack.com.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The first blooming mimosa I have encountered in decades of photographing Jordan Lake. Although undeniably beautiful, this non-native invasive tree is displacing native vegetation in many parts of the Southeast. It serves as a reminder that not every beautiful thing belongs where we find it.

Soft pink blossoms of a blooming mimosa tree peek above the native forest canopy at Jordan Lake. This was the first blooming mimosa I have encountered in decades of photographing the lake. Although strikingly beautiful, mimosa is a non-native invasive species that spreads into natural habitats.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 4mo ago

You may have heard the saying, "Be careful whose toes you step on." This Great Blue Heron seemed completely unconcerned about such advice as it stood on the "toes" formed by the roots of an old tree. What looks like a hazard to some becomes a waterfront perch for a heron. Different perspectives. 🦉

Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 4mo ago

These bald eagle chicks will be last to fledge this breeding season at Jordan Lake. 1) two chicks - one to the right is leftover foraging. 2) one of the babies is wapping its wings. 3) it has performed branching - gaining muscle and courage by flapping and jumping up to branches above the nest.🦉

Two juvenile bald eagles standing in a nest high in a pine tree at Jordan Lake, North Carolina. One chick appears to be searching the nest for leftover food.Juvenile bald eagle above the nest with wings spread wide while practicing flapping and balancing among pine branches.Juvenile bald eagle perched on a branch above its nest in a pine tree, a behavior known as branching before fledging.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The Studio Supervisor may be 15 years old, but the sound of a fork touching a breakfast plate still brings him running. Every meal in the studio falls under Grayced's jurisdiction, and tribute must be rendered.🐈

Black-and-white photograph of a tabby cat balancing on a narrow windowsill beside a bookshelf. One front paw is lifted mid-step as he leans forward with an intent expression, appearing to climb toward the photographer. Sunlight from the window highlights the stripes in his coat while books and office furnishings frame the scene, creating the impression of a determined feline making his way through the studio.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 5mo ago

First Nest: Three Jordan Lake eaglets. One made it to dinner first. The other two fledglings are perched nearby looking highly offended.  (And yes — all three eaglets really are in this photograph.) 🦉

A distant view of three fledgling bald eagles at a Jordan Lake nest high in a pine tree. One eaglet stands at the nest rim eating while two siblings perch together on a branch to the left, partially hidden among pine needles and cones.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 6mo ago

First Nest. All three of the bald eagle TRIPLETS are continuing to grow rapidly. Hint: to see each look for dark football shape, then yellow feet and for a beak. Nature camouflages these youngsters very well. Jordan Lake, NC🦉

Three juvenile bald eagles perch and cluster around a large stick nest high in a pine tree, their dark, bulky bodies blending into the branches and needles. Their shapes are partially hidden among the limbs, with hints of yellow feet and developing beaks visible. Bright green foliage fills the lower right corner, contrasting with the muted greens and browns of the tree canopy.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Saturday Siesta. Deadlines exist, but the Studio Supervisor has determined that nap protocols are non-negotiable. If you have been following his supervisory work, he has made his way into the Gallery… where there happens to be a short sale underway. He may be visited here: docellenimages.etsy.com

A striped tabby cat sleeping peacefully in a cushioned bed near a window, bathed in warm afternoon sunlight.
Doc Ellen@docellen.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Heron Point Nest. Bald Eagle Fledglings! Jordan Lake, both juveniles have now fledged and moved about 100 feet from the nest. One pushed farther—lifting off again to try for the point—while the other remained perched, watching. First fledges I’ve observed on Jordan Lake this season.🦉

A juvenile bald eagle, recently fledged, lifts off from a tree near the Heron Point nest at Jordan Lake, wings fully extended as it attempts a longer flight around the point.A second juvenile bald eagle, also recently fledged, perches in a nearby tree about 100 feet from the Heron Point nest at Jordan Lake, watching as its sibling takes a more adventurous flight.