bald eagle flight

Tag

By empty talons
From down the hill, through the trees, I heard an osprey scream and then it flashed past the branches.
There was an immature bald eagle in aggressive pursuit of the fledgling osprey.
Frantically I followed the action, trying to get down the boat ramp.
I watched the eagle smack into the osprey, I missed that shot…
but the eagle didn’t miss the fish the osprey had just dropped.
The osprey’s empty talons says it all as the triumphant eagle bows away with its prize.
Wish the photo was clearer, but, alas…
eagle and osprey

By Amicus, head detail

This is Amicus.
He appears to be an elderly eagle.
But I have no way to tell his age other than he is more than 5 years old.
Yet, there is something, an infusion, that speaks of ancient wisdom within his gaunt face.

Amicus head detail

By you just never know…

You just never know when an eagle will appear – or where it will land.
In this case the landing pad is one of the warning signs at the Jordan Lake dam.
The eagle balanced on the thin edge for four minutes.
My friend and I were still discussing the strange perch when a second adult eagle came up river.
The second eagle flew by the first eagle. Neither bird made a sound or seemed to notice each other.
The second eagle soared out over the dam and on to the lake.
The first eagle eventually gave up its balancing act and flew a very short distance – and this time landed in a pine.

WALK7499 Jul 14 2015 @ 10-40-11 Haw River eagle on sign

By Independence Day 2015

May your holiday be one of peace and joy.
May we each remember that the freedom that was so dearly bought is to be shared amongst kin, friends and countries.
While we thank those who sacrificed for our independence then and continue to give their labor and life for freedom today.
Hershey, the milk-chocolate eagle, soars above us because we also care for his world too.

WALK0841 Jun 29 2015 @ 11-19-21 Ebenezer Hershey 4th July

By food security for Hershey

Having caught his fish with only his right foot,
Hershey needs to secure his grip for the flight to an eating perch.
The fish is still within his focal points as Hershey reaches to place his left foot for added grip.
Makes me a little dizzy just contemplating his bowed head, the forward flight and the downward vision…

WALK0867 Jun 29 2015 @ 11-19-25 Ebenezer Hershey foot plant

By snatch

The third step in Hershey’s fishing sequence:
the snatch.
Notice that he has caught the fish almost at the surface.
Sometimes I honestly believe bald eagles don’t like getting their feet wet.
Or perhaps it is that, unlike the osprey who so exuberantly goes whole body under when fishing,
the eagle practices a more finessed style of getting its fish.

WALK0849 Jun 29 2015 @ 11-19-22 Ebenezer Hershey snatch 2