It was a bright sunny day at Oaks Bottom. The Heron were out
in the pond watching the carp spawn. The carp are just below the surface
rolling and darting in a frenzy. Since they are 12 to 24 inches long, Most of them are too big for a heron to swallow. Since the heron can’t tear the fish
apart, they have to swallow it whole.
Suddenly a juvenile Bald Eagle swept over the pond. He too is
interested in eating the carp. But unlike his cousins the Osprey, eagles are
not very good at diving into the water and hauling out a fish.
This is a “junior” eagle. The bald eagle characteristics of
white head and tail have not developed yet. He is still learning all the tricks
of the hunting trade.
One thing he has seen the older eagles do is to steal
fish from other animals. If these heron will just grab a carp and pull it out
of the water, then he can swoop down and take it away. He is watching and
waiting. The heron are squawking their disapproval.
On the shoreline it looks like a heron has trapped a
carp and put his foot on it. The eagle circles waiting for the heron to reach
down and pick it up in his mouth.
But the heron is wise about eagles. He knows if the fish
is in the water the eagle can’t get it. Both birds squawk at each other. “I
want that fish”. “Go away it’s mine!”
The eagle circles and dives at the heron. The heron holds his ground, with the fish wiggling beneath his feet.
The eagle could attack the heron. But the heron is
big enough to injure the eagle: abroken wing or bad cut is a death sentence.
The eagle is frustrated. Finally he flew off a few hundred feet to rest and
figure out what to do.
With the eagle temporarily gone, it’s now or never for the
heron. He reached down and grabbed the fish. It is quite big for him to gulp
down.
First try. The Carp falls back into the water. Two ducks
stare in wonder. (They don’t eat fish.)
Another try and he did it! The fish was in his throat! Could
he hold it down? The bird looked top heavy. But the eagle couldn’t get the fish
now.
The heron looked very uncomfortable. He literally won’t eat
for a couple of days. The eagle sulked for a few minutes before looking
someplace else for a free meal.
Copyright 2013 Tom
Nelson
All Rights Reserved
Please ask before you
use my photos
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