Yesterday at about 4:00 PM I got to witness the spectacle of an immature Bald
Eagle flying over the Lake Sammamish State Park heronry. I was watching from
across the field to the west of the heronry which provides limited views of the
nests.

The Bald Eagle flew past heading generally east, although it did make a couple
of circles on its way. I saw no indication that the eagle was in any way
interested in the heronry; it just seemed to be flying past.

I had counted about 17 herons roosting prior to the appearance of the Bald
Eagle. However, this was quickly proven to be a sizable undercount. Perhaps
40 or more herons took flight, swirling above the trees, then slowly decending
to land. The heronry extends quite a bit further south, apparently, than was
originally visible from my vantage point, as most of the herons arose from
behind a tree southwards of the visible nests.

If Great Blue Herons are this flighty about a simple non-threatening Bald Eagle
overflight, I can only imagine the effects of a coordinated eagle attack!

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== hummer at isomedia.com