Blog 133: Irritating Eagles and Ornery Ospreys
20, 01 13, 08:36 Filed in: Photography | Island Life
Aerial Combat
I was walking the Pups on a windy Thursday afternoon, when a streak caught my eye. I looked up and saw a mature bald eagle flying across the sky at mach 1, with two screaming ospreys in hot pursuit. All three big birds would change direction as quickly as campaigning politicians, diving and dodging, zigging and zagging, all across the horizon. It reminded me of the WWII dogfight footage from the George Lucas movie Red Tails, except the pace I observed was much faster.
As I watched this aerial display of flying prowess and precision, I contemplated the rationale for this dramatic but dangerous behavior. Could a change of diet have caused the eagle to be aggressive? Might an exotic virus be affecting its central nervous system? Possibly global warming had raised the body temperature and heightened mood swings?
Then it struck me like an answer to a Cash Cab question, the eagle must have been bored! What could be more cheering to the Big Bird then messing with the high-strung, totally neurotic, one-level-down-on-the-avian-food-chain osprey? Fly within 50 feet of their nest and you can count on an osprey counterattack as surely as you will find cold beer in fisherman’s cooler. What a spectacle! I wasn’t fast enough to capture the eagle-osprey interaction with my camera, but I got one decent shot of an osprey launching into the sky to join the foray. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Around the Island
Here are a few random shots from around the Island this week.
Old Trucks
Here are two old trucks...well, the appropriate classification of one of them is up for consideration.
See you next week.
I was walking the Pups on a windy Thursday afternoon, when a streak caught my eye. I looked up and saw a mature bald eagle flying across the sky at mach 1, with two screaming ospreys in hot pursuit. All three big birds would change direction as quickly as campaigning politicians, diving and dodging, zigging and zagging, all across the horizon. It reminded me of the WWII dogfight footage from the George Lucas movie Red Tails, except the pace I observed was much faster.
As I watched this aerial display of flying prowess and precision, I contemplated the rationale for this dramatic but dangerous behavior. Could a change of diet have caused the eagle to be aggressive? Might an exotic virus be affecting its central nervous system? Possibly global warming had raised the body temperature and heightened mood swings?
Then it struck me like an answer to a Cash Cab question, the eagle must have been bored! What could be more cheering to the Big Bird then messing with the high-strung, totally neurotic, one-level-down-on-the-avian-food-chain osprey? Fly within 50 feet of their nest and you can count on an osprey counterattack as surely as you will find cold beer in fisherman’s cooler. What a spectacle! I wasn’t fast enough to capture the eagle-osprey interaction with my camera, but I got one decent shot of an osprey launching into the sky to join the foray. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Around the Island
Here are a few random shots from around the Island this week.
Old Trucks
Here are two old trucks...well, the appropriate classification of one of them is up for consideration.
See you next week.