I was at Nisqually NWR today (1/7/12) and I witnessed a group of bald eagles attacking what I believe was a waterfowl (probably a duck) in the wet lands just north of the winter pond just south of the two barns. The action started with a pair of eagles one adult and one juvenile making strikes. They were eventually joined by six other eagles (half adult, half juvenile) making passes at the prey one after another. While I saw the fowl appear above the top of the grasses a couple of times, not one of the eagles seized the duck and flew off with it. This episode went on for a good five minutes and represented a large expenditure of energy by the eagles involved. My question is, was this a training exercise for the juveniles involved? Last year I witnessed an adult eagle kill a cackling goose and leave it on the road near the two barns in front of two juveniles in an obvious attempt to teach them hunting. Was today's event something similar? Has anyone else observed anything like this?
Tom Alexander