Subject: Bald Eagle Question
Date: May 28 12:31:44 2002
From: LDavey at aol.com - LDavey at aol.com


Hi,

I honestly don't know about the behavior or Ravens, but I assume it is
similar to that of Crows. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a nest nearby
that of your Eagles, but still, any raptor who ventures into their
"territory" is subject to extreme harassment.

Around our home on Pine Lake in Sammamish, raptors have been abundant this
spring, particularly Bald Eagles, Ospreys, and Red-tailed Hawks. As such,
mobbing has been an almost daily occurrence. If it's an all-out mobbing, with
Crow alarms sounding and reinforcements flying in from every direction, it's
usually a Red-tailed Hawk. The mobbing can last seemingly forever, and it
doesn't matter whether the hawk is soaring high in the sky, just passing
through, or making a serious attempt at raiding a nest. The Crows do get
agitated when Eagles and Ospreys are around, but they seem to be less
interested in mobbing them directly, unless, of course, a nest is being
raided. Then, it's all-out war. But, for the most part, the Crow's mobbing e
fforts of the Eagle and Osprey are usually brief, and typically lack the same
intensity reserved for the Red-tailed hawk.

Eagles and Ospreys often sneak into the area undetected, but I've yet to see
a Red-tailed hawk blessed with the same stealthiness. We've seen Eagles and
Ospreys remain perched high in the trees at the water's edge for seemingly
hours on end, and even go about their business of fishing, while remaining
completely unmolested.

While the Crow's behavior is a pretty good indication that some kind of
raptor is about, interestingly, it is a less reliable indicator for the
presence of a Bald Eagle. Usually it is the gulls who announce the Eagles
presence. Unlike crows, gulls don't mob, they observe, keeping a very close
eye on the Eagle's whereabouts. At any given time there are two, maybe three
gulls lazing around the lake, gliding low over the water or perching at the
edge of a dock. But when an Eagle is near, their numbers increase, they
become more vocal, and the gull's behavior changes immediately from leisurely
to "on alert."

I wondered why I rarely saw Crows harassing Eagles in the same manner as a
hawk, until one day I watched the crows go after a Bald Eagle perched in a
tree away from the shoreline. Once the Eagle was airborne, he hit "warp"
speed with only one powerful flap of his wings, and left the crows in his
dust. Ospreys do the same. Red-tailed hawks either lack the same speed, or
they enjoy having their butts relentlessly pecked. . :)

I can't say whether or not my observations are typical, nor say with any
degree of confidence that I have interpreted them correctly, but I feel
incredibly blessed to have seen all that I have seen while living on Pine
Lake.

Linda Davey
Sammamish, WA
LDavey at aol.com