[Tweeters] Drama on the Dock

[HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters]

It's also possible that the eagle could see where the duck was swimming; they do have excellent eyesight. 
 
Hal Michael
Board of Directors, Ecologists Without Borders http://ecowb.org/
Olympia WA
360-459-4005
360-791-7702 (C)
ucd880 at comcast.net
 
 


> On 12/22/2024 9:15 PM PST Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>  

>  

> We once watched an adult Bald Eagle at the park just north of Steilacoom trying to to catch a female Common Goldeneye. Whenever the eagle swooped in for the kill, the goldeneye would dive. Unfortunately she would always surface within a small circle and the eagle knew this and was right on her. If she would have only resurfaced with some distance, the eagle would have not known where to attack next. The duck eventually tired and stayed on the surface a little too long and the eagle got her. Here again the eagle was unable to lift off the water with it’s prey and ended up “rowing” with a lot of wing flapping about a 100 yards to shore where it started plucking the hard earned lunch.

> 

> Hans Feddern

> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA

> thefedderns at gmail.com mailto:thefedderns at gmail.com

>  

> 

> On Sun, Dec 22, 2024 at 5:03 PM Jon Houghton via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> > Hi Tweets - Last week we witnessed an interesting look at how nature and Bald Eagles work. We were on the end of the Edmonds fishing pier watching an adult eagle make repeated low passes at a specific point in the water, extending its legs and talons into the water at the nadir of each pass.  On about the fourth pass, we noticed a quick appearance at the surface by Red-necked Grebe which had been the target all along, unseen by us, but obviously seen by the eagle each time it approached the surface for a breath. On that last pass, the eagle nailed it and held it underwater, with the eagle's body about half underwater itself.  The eagle then did a breast stroke, using its wings in a rotating motion, to drag its still unseen prey to the breakwater where he hauled it out and devoured it.  I've seen eagles do this before when they capture a salmon too large to fly with.  Happy Birding!

> >  

> > Jon Houghton, Edmonds

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