Ed, tweeters,

Okay, I'll bite....(grin)...
Ed described a friend's observations of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) ripping branches out of trees (after inspecting them "on
foot").

>Stooping at branches may be something people have seen before, (Martin
>Muller?) but as for me, I always assumed that Eagles simply found
>branches.

Yes, I've seen eagles collect sticks/branches from trees in full flight.
I've never seen them inspect the branches first though, but it makes sense.
It would be a good way to avoid the embarrassment of dangling upside down
from a branch after hitting it at full speed and the branch not breaking
(I've seen that happen a couple of times).
Sometimes sticks are collected from the ground, as is the grass that the
birds use to line the stick nest with. Again, I've never had the good
fortune to see eagles prune sticks they collect from the ground, but it
doesn't surprise me.
Occasionally the birds land in trees and "hop" up and down to break off a
branch, at other times they carefully approach a branch too thin to support
their weight (average male 8-10 pounds, average female 10-12 pounds), hover,
lock-on and gradually increase pressure and "catch" themselves when the
branch breaks.
Another method is to land on a branch and use a foot or the bill to break
off a small nearby branch and take it to the nest. Especially the branches
of evergreens brought to the nest after the eggs hatch (anti-bacterial
function) aer collected this way.
Branches that are up to a foot or two in length can be transferred from
talons to bill or vice versa in flight.
Some of the sticks the eagles collect may be considerable in size, up to
three times the eagle's body length (yes, close to 10 feet).
Again, this nest refurbishing this time of year is part of normal fall
"courtship" activity (there have been several reports of birds performing
"courtship" these past few weeks on tweeters).

Cheers,
Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com