Tim:
A couple of winters ago, Jim Harleman and I witnessed two immature Bald
Eagles attack an American Wigeon. The Wigeon appeared to be injured or
hurt since it failed to take advantage of the opportunity to fly from the
attacks, Eventually the Eagles tired of the event and broke off the
consant diving attacks upon the intended victim. The Wigeon escaped into
the nearby reeds and marsh.
It was evident by their behavior that the Eagles were either cooperating or
joining into a group hunt. The question becomes, "Does the Eagle naturally
use this technique to hunt and THEN SHARE the spoils or does the Eagle use
this technique until one bird gets lucky and the other/s have to look
elsewhere"?

Clint Brumitt
cbrumitt at jeffnet.org
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> From: Tim Shelmerdine <shelmert at mail.clackesd.k12.or.us>
> To: obol at mail.orst.edu
> Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Bald Eagle cooperation?
> Date: Tuesday, April 01, 1997 3:06 AM
>
> Last Friday, March 28th, I went birding on Sauvie Island, near Portland.
> At the county line, on Reeder Road, I saw one of those dramas that we
> occasionally are luckily enough to observe.
>
> Three young Bald Eagles (1st and 2nd year birds) were cooperatively
> attacking a lone Canada Goose. They would take turns swooping at the
goose
> forcing it to dive beneath the water to escape. Interestingly enough,
> there were three other bald eagles that participated in the attack as
well,
> then left after one or two swoops at the unfortunate goose. The oldest
> bird was a sub-adult with a mostly white head and tail. There were a
> maximum of five birds harrassing the goose at on point. The eagles
> continued this for about fifteen minutes, exhausting the goose until it
was
> no longer able to evade their swoops. After a couple of failed graps
with
> their talons, one of the birds seized the goose by the head, managed to
> carry it about fifteen feet, then either lost its grip or had to drop
such
> a heavy burden back into the water. From this point on, the goose was
> motionless in the water, until one of the birds managed to carry it to a
> shallow area on the side of the pond. When I left, one of the birds was
> standing on the goose, holding it under the water, while the other two
> eagles stood nearby. At least two of the other eagles, which had at one
> time or another attacked the goose, were perched in a large nearby tree,
> but did not seem interested in the kill.
>
> This is the first example I have seen of what appears to me to be eagles
> cooperating on a kill. Does anyone have any similar anecdotes?
>
> Tim
>
> Tim Shelmerdine
> Lake Oswego/Aurora, Oregon
> shelmert at mail.clackesd.k12.or.us
>
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