It wasn’t a good time or place to be an eagle.
Yesterday morning, when I arrived at Farmington Bay WMA about 15 minutes before sunrise, I saw an adult Bald Eagle perched in one of a group of trees to the north of the road. But “he’ was still in the shade of the mountains and he wasn’t very close to the road so I continued on to the 4-way at the end of the road to look for other birds.
When I came back about 45 minutes later he was still there but now he was being harrassed by a murder of crows, about 150 of them. I took several photos from this vantage point just to document a few of the crows but from this angle the eagle was strongly side-lit. So after I took this photo I drove further east to try to improve the light angle.
Note: The background in today’s photos may look like moody skies but it isn’t. It’s the faraway Wasatch Mountains to the northeast.
From this angle we can’t see the trees the crows were perched in and the eagle is still side-lit so changing my shooting location didn’t help much. It was at this point that I realized that the crows weren’t sitting passively in those trees. They seemed to be taking turns making life miserable for the eagle.
Every few seconds one of the crows would dive bomb him.
They came from almost every angle and direction but most of them were coming from the trees out of frame to the right.
Some of the crows came closer to the eagle than others but the onslaught never let up.
Occasionally they attacked in pairs, with one crow flying by close to the eagle, apparently to distract him, and then another crow would come in from the eagle’s blind side and appear to actually “count coup” on the eagle, or at least try to. I could never tell if actual contact was ever made but if it wasn’t, it was close. Very close. Here the eagle is actually ducking in an attempt to avoid the second crow.
Following is a series of six photos documenting just one of the many attacks.
The first crow, the one who flew in front of the eagle to distract him, is already out of frame to the left but at the last second the eagle turned to face this crow coming in from his blind side.
Since the eagle was now facing his attacker, the crow…
pulled up with only inches to spare. The fact that the eagle is still facing to the right while the crow is already past him demonstrates how fast the action was.
The crow landed on the stump to the left but the eagle is already facing his next attacker, who…
flew into the frame before the first crow even had time to fold its wings. Almost immediately after the second crow had passed by very close to the eagle, the first crow…
took off and flew within inches of the back of the eagle, apparently in an effort to intimidate him. Rubbing salt on his wounded ego?
After about 15 minutes of this nonstop action the crows, singly or in pairs, began to fly off to the south. Soon there weren’t many crows left so I left too.
It was fun while it lasted, at least for me.
Ron
Always love bird interactions.
This is a “first degree” murder of crows — with special circumstances. Jeezalou, what a bunch of jerks! Poor eagle! I’m glad he stood his ground (I have a feeling he would have faced disaster in the air). Makes for an exciting series though, which I’m so glad you were there to document and share with all of us!
Thank you for introducing me to a new term as well. I don’t recall ever learning about counting coup. Wonderful article too — thanks for including the link. In or out of the classroom, you’re a fabulous teacher!
“In or out of the classroom, you’re a fabulous teacher.”
Coming from you, Marty, a teacher yourself, that means a lot. Thank you.
❤️❤️❤️
Super series!!
Thanks, Charlotte.
Great series. I agree with you about the eagle staying put. I suspect it knows it would be in more trouble in the air. It’s relatively safe on the perch even if constantly harassed. More than once I have seen flying Red-tailed Hawks being driven to the ground by just 3 or 4 attacking crows. It may be unpleasant, but safer to stay sitting where you are.
Dan, thanks for affirming my gut instinct. Hope you’re doing well these days.
Wow, Ron ,what an amazing post today. I too feel so sorry for the eagle. In 2014 when I was following an eagle nest I saw a similar attach. I was just learning about eagles. I couldn’t understand why the eagle didn’t turn & attach Blue Jay. A more experience Eagle watcher told me the smaller bird was much quicker & the eagle takes longer to take off. also the Blue Jay had a nest to protect. I learned a lot that year becoming an ardent Eagleholic!!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jo Ann. Thanks.
Stunning series.
If I was that eagle, I would have gotten out of Dodge — its a lot braver than me.
Thanks, Kent. I think they’re more vulnerable to attack while they’re in flight than they are perched. Especially when there are lots of adversaries.
I had never thought of that — thanks for the insight.
I knew about counting coup, though I have no idea where from.
I do feel sorry for the eagle. And understand the triumph of the crows.
Another great series. Thanks Ron.
“though I have no idea where from”
I’m guessing you got it from your extensive reading, EC.
What kind of bird was the eagle clutching in its talons?
Gary, as far as I can tell from zooming in on my high res images, there isn’t a bird in its talons. Those feathers belong to the eagle.
I have found hawks and owls this way… but usually I’m following the rowdy blue jay calls. Whenever I hear a vocal group of Jays I try to find what they are going on about. Most recently this Autumn it was a big milk snake sliding slowly through the grass.
Thanks for the great group of photos!
Joanne, I have very little experience with Blue Jays but based on the behavior of other jays, I’m not surprised.
Thanks for the link to University of Nebraska, my alma mater, for counting coup.
Go Huskers! 🙂
Great photos!
Thanks, Jerilyn.
Whether a Murder of Crows or a Conspiracy of Ravens, these birds just love to harass our National Emblem. We don’t have Crows here, but plenty of Ravens. Our Ravens work in smaller groups of three to five, but exact same routine. The Eagles hate it and occasionally will go after them, but for the most part just try to endure it till they get tired and leave. Nice series Ron. A couple of the shots really show their facial reactions. Excellent.
Thank you, Everett. My experience with ravens is very similar to yours.
Great series, Ron….. 🙂 VERY familiar with, mainly, Magpies here harassing hawks/eagles – always feel bad for the bird being harassed and KNOW that moving rarely solves the problem. Of course, they do the same thing with Coyotes ruining their slinking around hunting in the brush. 😉
“Counting Coup” is familiar tho liked the detail of the link you sent as it gives a more complete picture of it.
Thanks, Judy. I figured you’d be familiar with counting coup.
Poor eagle–sometimes being the “top dog” in the neighborhood is
a bad deal–just makes him the target for harassment (always
assuming their are enough low dogs to make it a safe game for
them collectively ). Thanks for the link to the piece on “counting
coup”–the best description and explanation of the concept I’ve
read……..
“Thanks for the link to the piece on “counting coup”–the best description and explanation of the concept I’ve read”.
Then I’m glad I included it, Kris. I didn’t think of it until the last minute.
Count coup. That’s a new one for me, and is a apt term for what Crows and Ravens do with birds of prey.
Very interesting photo series, and I enjoyed the blow-by-blow narrative.
Though I did feel sympathy for the eagle. I could just feel the annoyance and frustration. The only best move in this situation is to stand your ground. From what I have seen, taking to the air does not help.
Thanks, Michael. Given my strong interest in western history and the fact that I grew up on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I’ve been familiar with “counting coup” since I was a pup.
I have seen murder of crows, many times, but never harassing an eagle. Probably a very stupid question, why didn’t the eagle fly away? Or would they have all mobbed him then? I know I have seen hawks be attacked by 4 or 5 crows while flying. Is it safer to sit still?
“why didn’t the eagle fly away?”
Not a stupid question, Connie. It was probably because he knew the crows would follow him and because there aren’t many trees on the refuge for him to perch in anyway.
Very dramatic sequence. In south Florida the mockingbirds and Blue Jays harass the eagles, especially the juveniles. In New Mexico I saw a smaller group of crows calling excitedly in a Cottonwood tree. The eagle was out of sight at first. As I moved closer, I noticed that almost all the crows’ beaks were pointed to a single spot, so this helped me find the eagle. Most of the grows in your group seem not to follow this “rule.”
Kenneth, around here when I’m looking for eagles (Bald or Golden) I’ve learned to look for groups of crows, ravens or magpies. Finding groups of corvids significantly improves my chances of finding at least one eagle.