On a side road north of the Conboy Lake NWR we came upon a 3rd yr. BALD
EAGLE in the air, a GOLDEN EAGLE on carrion or a kill, and an Eagle on a
power pole. This last eagle was noticed when it left, flying off in the
direction of the refuge, southerly, requiring us to look towards the sun to
follow it - which we didn't. The first Bald Eagle - the 3rd yr. bird - was
found perched far way on the edge of a woodlot. It was about a third the
way up a pine tree, on a limb, right against the bole of the tree. It was
scoped and identified, and the view shared. The Golden Eagle was an easy
binocular I.D. It was plucking feathers and feeding in full view a sort
ways out into a pasture. Soon a member of our group was startled to see
the Golden Eagle attacked and driven from the carrion by another eagle,
stooping into the binocular field of view from above, talons extended! A
mature Bald Eagle! (Apparently this eagle had not left the scene shortly
after our arrival, as we'd thought. But instead had implemented a plan,
flying off to gain some altitude and acquire a superior offensive position
to that of the Golden Eagle on the ground.) It quickly took possession and
had a few bites off the carcass itself.

Whatever the carrion or prey was, goose, turkey, -?- , it proved too heavy
or awkward for either the Golden Eagle or the Bald Eagle to get into the
air. This mature Bald Eagle soon flew off to the woodlot also, possibly
giving in to its concern about our presence nearby - we had opened the car
door to enable using the window mounted scope to view the eagle feeding on
the ground.

Near the end of the scene, we had both Bald Eagles on the same tree limb in
the woodlot. We'd lost track of the Golden Eagle. When the immature Bald
Eagle flew off to the northeast, we headed on over to the refuge
headquarters, as the day was drawing to a close and we hadn't yet viewed the
Swans reported here earlier in the week.

It is COLD at Conboy Lake NWR! There are still patches of snow around. The
'Lake' is extensive and much of it is ice covered. There are some icy
patches on the roads to be alert for.
--- The Allingers
< jonymike at pacifier.com >