This afternoon two adult Golden Eagles were observed soaring along a slope
between Grand Coulee and Bridgeport. Since they were only about 200 yards
off the rooad I stopped the car to watch them for a moment. It's always a
treat to observe GOEA's at close range.

This is when I noted that they were casually swooping at a coyote. Each
time an eagle swooped down, the coyote jumped several feet straight up,
coming just inches from the eagle. This happened a few times before the
eagles apparently tired and glided away. Neither the eagles nor the coyote
appeared to be serious in their actions.

This is the second interaction I've noted between GOEA's and large mammals.
In July 1978, a group of us watched a pair harrass a spike Mule Deer on Hart
Mountain. This time though, the deer appeared to be terrified as it raced
back and forth across a steep slope littered with large boulders. I
wondered if the eagles were attempting to cause fatal injury to the deer.
The wildy frightened deer could have easily broken a leg in this terrain.

Has anyone else observed this behavior in Golden Eagles?

Scott

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Scott Ray Washington Birder Newsletter
Yakima, WA PO Box 191
email: scray at wolfenet.com Moxee, WA 98936
http://www.wolfenet.com/~scray/