an osprey was seen yesterday evening about 6pm at juanita bay park, flying
east to west. beyond creating a stir among the waterfowl below, he never
deviated from his path, and was gone from sight quickly...

not long after, one of our resident adult bald eagles made its appearance
known to the newcomers by stooping several times on a singular american coot
caught over open waters... i rarely get a chance to see coots in actual
winged flight more than a foot off the surface of the lake, so this alone
fascinated me. however, i could see the reason why bearing down on his
position. as soon as the eagle decided his math was correct, said eagle
stooped and went for american takeout.

the coot must have sensed something, and went from apprentice flyer to
journeyman olympic diver, hitting the water at a sharp angle, and only just
missing becoming the special of the day.

the eagle went back to altitude, circled a few times, and as the coot
reappeared, once again assumed the position, only to have dinner play
hard-to-get. for the next two minutes, the scene played out back and forth,
with the same results.

the eagle appeared to tire of the pursuit, and headed for the western point
of the cove. the coot, seizing its opportunity, sprinted for the safety of
numbers located on the east of the cove. after about 50 metres, it looked
like he was going to make it without any more troubles when the eagle came
from nowhere, and once again the tableau repeated.

finally, the eagle had had enough, and once again flew west towards his
regular perches while the coot lost itself among the other happy meals
floating nearby with american wigeon, wood ducks, gadwalls, and canada
geese...

00 caren
http://www.parkgallery.org
on the internet near JBP
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