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RE: Eagles do eat birds...



Indeed they do.  On the banks of McAlister creek on the west side of the
Nisqually Wildlife Refuge nr Olympia, WA, Bald Eagles nest in close
proximity to a GBH rookery for the express (and well-known) purpose of using
the rookery as a take-out restaurant for feeding young.

Also witnessed there one of the finest aerial sights of my life as an adult
BE took on an adult R-T Hawk - talon-to-talon, tumbling about their grasped
talons in mid-air for about 15 seconds before breaking off - both
contestants going their own way unhurt.  Sadly, I was too awed by the sight
to raise my camera, let alone my binocs.

7;^)
Tomm "hides his own easter eggs" Lorenzin
Mooresville (Lake Norman), NC
SkyTomX@XDELLnet.com or TomLoX@XMicrosoft.com
(remove Xs to use addresses)
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-----Original Message-----
From: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
[mailto:carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu]On Behalf Of Clyde Sorenson
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 09:36
To: Carolina birds
Subject: Eagles do eat birds...


I've seen bald eagles kill healthy birds twice. The first was my first
sighting of an eagle, 24 years ago- I saw an immature bird nab a healthy
bufflehead (after harassing a flock of the ducks for about 10 minutes)
on Falls Reservoir on the Yadkin between Badin and Tillery lakes.

The second was awesome. North of Sacramento, CA I watched an adult kill
a blue phase snow goose at the edge of a large flock at a state wildlife
management area. It ambushed the goose by approaching low from the far
side of a brushy strip along the edge of an impoundment and blowing over
the strip at the last minute like a giant Cooper's hawk. It nailed the
bird with its talons on the neck and back and then fell into the shallow
water on top of it. The bird may have been singled out because most of
the others in its immediate vicinity were white phase birds.

I have also seen them harassing ospreys for fish; they are extremely
acrobatic. Once over Lake Ellis-Simon, we watched one such contest in
which the birds must have gained close to a thousand feet of altitude
before the osprey relinquished its fish. The silvery fish plummeted (we
could see its sides flashing through our binoculars as it fell) and the
eagle almost casually rolled and plucked it from the air as it fell.

Don't sell bald eagles short; they really are masterful fliers and
powerful predators.

Clyde Sorenson
clyde_sorenson@ncsu.edu
Clayton and Raleigh, NC