Yesterday morning, I put a dead raccoon near the edge of my
lawn to feed the vultures. Within an
hour there were seven Turkey Vultures taking turns at the feast. A half hour later I saw all of the vultures
in the air and wondered why they had abandoned their meal. A quick check showed the raccoon now in the
possession of a young Bald Eagle.
I routinely move road-killed animals from the road in front
of the house to the field behind the house.
I think it’s a lot safer for the scavengers and it provides me some
interesting viewing. I’ve seen Turkey
Vultures, Black Vultures, Red-shouldered Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks feed on the
dead animals, but this is the first visit I’ve had from a Bald Eagle. This individual was keeping a close watch on
the circling Turkey Vultures.
The amount of white mottling makes me think this is a two
year old bird. However, my eagle
experience is minimal, so I’m basing that assumption on what I’ve read in
various bird field guides.
In between feedings, the eagle spent time sitting in a large
fence row Black Walnut. I saw it visit
the carcass three different times. It
stayed in the area for about six hours before moving on.
Above is a short video of the Bald Eagle feeding.
Glad you are back with another post. You have the most interesting ones of all that I look at every day. It is a red letter day when you have a new one up. I know it is a lot of work, but you must give a lot of enjoyment to those of us who read them.
ReplyDelete...that is the ultimate recycling! Very exciting to bring in a young eagle.
ReplyDelete