Yes, this is a common tactic for Bald Eagles hunting waterfowl. I have observed it numerous times on the Columbia River as they attempt to hunt coots and ducks such as scaup and Buffleheads.

Jeff Kozma

Yakima

j c r underscore 5105 at charter dot net
----- Original Message -----
From: Jennifer Bendemire
To: Tweeters
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 9:38 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle catches duck, Richmond Beach


Was a couple miles down from the park at very low tide, walking the beach, and I observed a bald eagle "fishing," or so I thought. The eagle descended slowly and then began hover over the water. My loyalties switched in a split second as I realized he was after a diving bird (what appeared to be one of the smaller grebes). The grebe dove, then emerged, dove again, emerged again... meanwhile the eagle hovered and made occasional diving arcs over the water. More quickly than I would have expected, the grebe fatigued, and only made the shallowest of dives as the eagle descended more purposefully and finally grabbed onto the bird and carried it off to a sandbar. I have never seen anything like this, and quickly realized that my own mixed emotions had absolutely nothing to do with what was going on out there. It left me wondering, though, if this is a typical strategy for eagles, to hover and dive, thereby wearing down an otherwise healthy appearing, adult grebe or sea duck? And what proportion of an eagle's diet is waterfowl vs. fish?


Jennifer Bendemire
jbendemi at hotmail.com







------------------------------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
Tweeters mailing list
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters