Warning!
If you are squeamish you might want to precede with caution!
Raptors are eating lunch!
It’s been nothing but raining here in our neck of the woods lately. This continuous rain has kept me from going to my favorite park for the last several says. However, on Sunday the sun was shining, so the Zendog and I decided to get in some walking. I put on my boots, grabbed my camera, hopped into my car and headed straight for my favorite park.
One of the trails leads through a beautiful meadow with a large stand of gnarly old oaks. I really love this part of the park because I rarely encounter any humans there. It’s quiet and when the sun is out, the light is just magical. There you encounter all kinds of birds, a few squirrels and of course lots of seasonal wildflowers.
When we got to the trail though, the path and much of the oak grove were under water. Hmmhhh! Well, we decided to turn around and skip this part. Just as we walked back past the swallow nesting boxes we heard loud and shrill bird calls. They came straight from the center of the oak grove! I stopped and checked to make sure my camera was ready to go. Suddenly around 15 to 20 crows were swarming noisily around one of the trees. The raptor screeches got louder. It sure sounded like a really big hawk. By now we had arrived at the other end of the oak grove trail where the path was also muddy and under water …..
Suddenly, we spotted a pair of bald eagles way up in one of the oak trees.
Off I went into the oak grove to get closer to these incredible birds-of-prey.
The one on the left kept watch over the other one as she was devouring a catch.
The crows, being their scavenger selves, waited nearby for falling morsels.
It was slow going navigating the saturated, uneven ground and fallen branches.
Never before have I been more thankful for my trusty old boots!
I had to keep quiet and not loose track of the eagles.
Finally I arrived just below their perch.
These gorgeous birds are huge and powerful!
What luck to have arrived at the park at this exact moment.
Except for the squawking of the crows it was silent in the oak grove.
Then the eagles posture changed and she looked to her right …
looked to her left …
did kind of a nose-dive …
and disappeared in the trees.
I reversed my path through the trees and soon caught up with one of the eagles.
Kindly, it had waited for me atop a very tall conifer tree clear across the park.
Just as I had taken a few more photographs the eagle decided to take wing!
What an incredible start to 2021!
I have a feeling it’s going to be a good year this year.
Stay healthy, happy and take good care of yourself!
Thank you for always reading my blog.
Sabine
🙂
in cahoots with muddy boots 
These photos are so clear! You must have a zoom lens to get shots that up close and personal. I love it. They are magnificent birds. Thanks so much for sharing your ‘muddy’ day.
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Yes, I do have a zoom lens for my camera. It really makes a difference even when I’m close like I was to the eagles. I still can’t believe I had this encounter. From now on whenever I see a murder of crows making a massive racket I’ll investigate! 😉
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Wow, just wow! Talk about a serendipitous walk. Eagles are truly magnificent birds. We have some that live in a park near us. This summer we often saw them while sitting in our backyard. Gorgeous photos, too!
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Definitely a moment in time to remember! This was such an unexpected surprise and I’m glad I was able to capture it and share. Lucky that you get to see them from your backyard. We get fly-overs here at home. Not the same of course but I still get excited every time I encounter them soaring above our garden and forest. 🙂
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Agreed! 🤗
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What an amazing encounter Sabine – definitely in the right place at the right time. You sure did get close-ups of the eagle feasting. You’re right, if you are squeamish it might not be for you, but you did not include much of the meal and we got to see the various vantage points you had (many). 🙂
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It was amazing and I owe it all to the crows whose noise drew my attention. I’ve seen eagles here in the past but generally they just fly by.
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You were lucky those crows made all the noise … right place, right time!
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Good for you Sabine! Having your trusty rubber boots allowed you to get these great shots!
Whenever I hear Crows making a fussy I always investigate!
I wonder what she was eating? You can see her crop was full.
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I have some pictures of what she was eating but wasn’t sure if I should publish them. And I didn’t want to upset one of the bloggers.
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