I once witnessed an "almost" eagle drowning. My wife and I were at the
north end of Hornby Island, off the east side of Vancouver Island, BC,
watching eagles catching fish in the saltchuck. We watched with a spotting
scope as several eagles successfully caught fish and flew back to the shore
with them. The action was roughly a quarter mile offshore.

Then one adult eagle caught something that was too heavy to lift, and the
bird foundered badly in the saltwater. After apparently managing to release
the (large fish?), the eagle struggled for some time, trying to swim toward
the shore, but the distance was so great that I suspect it would not have
survived the long swim. After a great deal of struggling, the eagle finally
managed to beat its way back into the air, and flew back to the shore.

Dave Nunnallee
dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
Bellevue, WA