Amongst Bald Eagles tensions often rise over food. But whether or not a fight will actually break out can be very difficult to predict.
Some years ago I photographed Bald Eagles battling over food at Farmington Bay WMA. The birds were far away and there was moisture in the air that degraded image quality but I think the photos below document the behavior well enough.
When I first got the eagles in my viewfinder the brawl was already in progress and may have been for some time. It involved a first winter juvenile (the one hunkered down with food which I believe was a duck), a near-adult challenging the juvenile in this photo, a subadult to the right and at the right edge of the frame we see the head of a full adult watching the brouhaha as it developed.
I was happy to get eagles of so many ages and plumages in the same photos.
Four frames later the near-adult was becoming more serious about its challenge to the juvenile and the subadult was coming in to join the fray. All three of them went at it for quite a while but mostly they had their backs to me and just looked like a jumble of feathers.
Twenty frames after the previous photo the juvenile was still holding its own but the subadult had taken an ass-over-teakettle nose dive into the ground. The raven in the photo had been hanging around the outskirts of the eagle dust-up the entire time and decided to photobomb this shot.
Not long after this I left the eagles because they were so far away and drove down the road to look for other birds. At that point most of the excitement looked like it was over.
But at other times with Bald Eagles I fully expect a fight to break out when it doesn’t. Following is an example.
Here we have a full adult and a juvenile facing each other down. The source of their tension is what’s left of a fish in the adult’s talons – the adult had it and the juvenile wanted it.
Guaranteed fight, especially at these very close quarters, right?
Nope, didn’t happen. The adult eventually continued feeding and even allowed the younger bird to snatch a piece of the fish without going ballistic. Surprised the hell out of me, that’s for sure. There’s a variety of possible explanations for the adult’s equanimity but it seems fruitless to speculate at this late date.
Birds, just when you think you’ve got them figured out they throw in the monkey wrench.
Ron
Well gee whiz those are just plain beautiful pictures of the Bald Eagles. So glad you saw them and could document and pass on to us Eagle Lovers. Thank you so much. Nice to see on a cold snow bound day for me.
It appears you really have some gems in that cache of 1100 Bald Eagle photos. Regarding the second to last photo: after reading your November 22nd, 2017 guide to aging Bald Eagles, the mature bird seems to have a less than yellow eye. So, is it not totally mature, a result of lighting/exposure, or my imagination? I think the juvenile in the photo might be wondering the same thing.
I can’t resist commenting that it seems appropriate that our national bird’s unpredictable squabbling is reminiscent of the current behavior in D.C.
Lyle, the only fully mature bird in the bunch is the adult at the right frame edge of the first shot, the one where we can only see the head. When I looked at that bird blown up in the high-res version of the image its iris is yellow as we’d expect. Regarding the near-adult, it does appear to have a darker eye than I might expect (maybe that’s the bird you’re referring to) but at this distance it’s hard for me to judge it accurately. And I’m no expert on the subject either…
Very lovely captures.
Thanks, April.
Awe and wonder.
Looking at these images in the pre-dawn heat has been marvellous. The second series I found particularly appealing – and amazing.
Mega thanks.
Thanks, EC. You’ve got incredible heat and I’ve got cold and gobs of new snow. Maybe we should meet in the middle… 🙂
We should definitely meet in the middle – and see which of ‘our’ birds comes too.
Ron, with Bad Eagles, how long do mother and offspring stay together?
BNA says they associate with other young and adults for 4-11 weeks after fledging.
Nice to see different age Bald Eagles in same frame for comparison and also for the possibility of food fights.Thanks
Thank you, John.
OMG – eagles are exciting enough for me, Ron,, but a battle – just wow!! I like the second two shots also & I have a guess to why no fight broke out. Of course it’s only a guess (LOL) but what if it’s one of the Adult’s offspring & s/he’s teaching him/her how to fight for food to survive? Possible?
I suppose almost anything’s possible but I’d say it’s unlikely. Thanks, Jo Ann.
Dad’s saying, “Son, Mom and I taught you how to catch fish, so don’t give up – get out there and do it.” “But ok, since you’re here go ahead and grab a quick bite.” Great series of photos and very interesting as well.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thank you, Everett.
Love it Everett. Just what I was proposing but you said it much better!! As for whether any eagle dies after a battle, two of the 3 Eagle cams I’ve been watching since 2014, one of the male eagles was in a fight with an intruder, was injured, found & brought to a Rehab center, was released after healing, went back to the nest & was killed again by the same intruder. This was at the SW Florida nest. This year the female, Juliet at the American Eagle Foundation’s NE Florida nest was fighting an intruder & the cam caught the fight & Juliet was seen by the cam being injured & has never returned to the nest so they are assuming the worse!!
Wow, Ron– what a dynamic post you’ve presented this morning ! That second to-last face-off made me laugh out loud : in my head, the dialogue went, ” Ya want a piece of this
fish, huh ? YA WANT A PIECE OF ME ? “
Yup, their internal dialogue probably went something very similar to that, Kris. 🙂
Impressive! I always wonder about the damage done with those talons during these encounters……..could be life threatening I’m sure! Ravens/Crows/Magpies are certainly opportunists! Wonderful photos even those at a distance! 🙂 Looks like “weather” for you or coming today……
Judy, last night I was reading on BNA that sometimes Bald Eagle fights are lethal for one of the birds. Doesn’t sound like it happens very often though.
And yes, snow started about an hour ago. They’re forecasting up to 8″ for the valleys and a couple of feet in the mtns. Huge flakes out there right now.