Jordan Lake Dam & Haw River: the riprap at the tailrace has become a traffic jam! There have been more than a dozen ospreys and 4-5 bald eagles all looking for fish. However, the bald eagle is a lazy hunter. In this case, an eagle, about 14 months old, had decided it wanted Mom osprey’s fish. The high speed chase lasted almost 2 minutes. The pursuit went from the dam to the south end of the riprap. Mom osprey dropped her fish at that point and the bald eagle went out over the playground and Mom osprey went looking for another fish in the riprap. This duel often happens where ever ospreys and bald eagles inhabit the same water ways. The photos also let you see the size difference between the two species.

This is the first photo of two.
It gives you the view I had when I caught the motion of the immature eagle through the upper trees and snapped the shot.

1 yo camouflage 1

The second view is a close up of the 1 year old as he hurtled through the trees.
He has a fish, and out of sight is the 3 year old eagle chasing him, wanting to steal the yearling’s fish.
I don’t know the ending – the chase was at top speed and quickly out of my sight.

1 yo camouflage