Size is not always the deciding factor – especially in a territory dispute.
Kate is being escorted out of the established territory of the smaller female above her.
The mature adults will often choose a threat and escort behavior over outright aggression.
Unlike the 3 year old Brassy who wants a fight and looks for it.
raptor
Tageagle family report 5-12-2015: Ice flight
It is getting harder to locate the fledglings as they daily venture further away from the nest.
I can always find them if I am there when a parent brings a fish to the nest.
The determined look on Ice’s face is there because he has seen Kate heading for the nest with a fish.
All he can think about is the food and he wants his share.
eagle family report 5-10-15 Sticks
VIDEO at http://youtu.be/HzB5oGvk9_I
NOTE: wind was gusty and the 2nd video clip shows it!
First Ice brings a stick to the nest – gets it hung up on the rim and he is puzzled.
Then Wynd brings a fat stick to the nest. Gets it stuck on her foot.
Loses interest in the stick and bounces out of the nest and onto the parent’s big roost.
Only she misjudges the distance and ends up right at the end of the limb and can’t figure out what to do with her feet.
Quite a dance she does. She finally bails out.
I wonder if carrying the sticks is good practice for carrying wet slippery fish once the fledglings begin to fish for themselves.
In these photos: 1st is Ice in the very dark early morning; 2nd is Wynd landing with her right foot on the stick and her left foot on the roost.
eagle family report 5-9-2015: Ice and a Crow
It is bad enough that Brassy, another eagle, chases Ice every chance she gets.
It is probably an additional insult to the fledgling that a small, hopping mad, parent fishing crow also harasses the immature eagle.
The fishing crow and its mate have a nest at the end of the cove where the eagle family lives.
Like all parent birds, these crows don’t like intruders and will, as here, chase even an eagle.
By the way, Ice’s eye is in mid-blink, and is therefore not showing signs of a possible injury.
eagle family report 5-8-2015 Brassy Chases an Osprey
Brassy doesn’t care who she harasses, like this osprey.
All bald eagles will chase an osprey that is carrying a fish.
The eagle crowds or actually bumps the osprey until it drops its fish.
Usually the eagle snatches the falling fish before it hits the water.
Yes, the bald eagle is a thief.
Osprey is up top and Brassy is closing fast from the lower right.
eagle family report 5-7-2015 Brassy Again
I was enjoying Wynd’s flight about the cove when I saw her look over her shoulder.
I lifted my face from behind my camera and saw Brassy bearing down on the fledgling.
Wynd began screaming for parents, her wings and body and feet trying for more speed.
I briefly saw the flash of a parent past my lens then both Brassy and parent dove into the trees and I lost them.
Wynd headed for the nest on the other side of the cove.
Brassy sure knows how to disrupt a peaceful flight of exploration.
Wynd is the lower bird with Brassy almost on top of her.
doc ellen's journey 