Late Thursday I made a quick trip to Seattle's Herring House Park on the lower Duwamish River, across from Kellogg Island on West Marginal Way. The light was fading fast, but I wanted to scope out the area for additional purple martin nesting gourds. An osprey was on the nest on the tower just downstream, and to the west in the greenbelt I spotted the new eagle nest that I had read about in an earlier tweeter posting; it's only a couple of hundred yards west of the ospreys.

Just as I was leaving I saw a quick brown blur in the air, and I thought I might have a peregrine to watch; a moment later I saw an adult bald eagle being harried by a very determined osprey. I hadn't realized that ospreys could fly so fast! The eagle was annoyed enough to rollover several times in the air, flashing its talons at the osprey. It was quite a show, and I imagine it will be repeated many times here in the near future.

A week ago in eastern WA I saw a golden eagle and a raven chasing each other, but it seemed rather playful, with the birds appearing to slow down for each other, and alternating roles as aggressor. The golden eagle was stunning in its flexibility, craning its head backwards as though taunting the raven, and then doing barrel rolls with its talons outstretched. The Duwamish bald eagle-osprey battle seemed far more earnest.

Kevin Li
Ballard, USA
kdli at msn.com