Eagle Encounter Pt I (Pic Heavy)

PJM · Feb 7, 2023

This is as much a story as it is a gallery. The photos here were shot at a long distance and aren't that great. They were shot with a Nikon D500 attached to a Nikon 200-500mm, f/5.6 lens at 500mm. They were cropped to about 50% and then run through Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen.

I encountered this eagle just as I was arriving at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I had stopped because I had seen a group of crows harassing a Northern Harrier and hoped to get some photos. By the time I stopped and got my gear out they were gone. It was then that I spotted this juvenile eagle floating up the river on an incoming tide.

I wan't sure what it was sitting on but soon came to the conclusion it was a duck or a goose that it had taken as it kept pecking at it as if it was feeding.

Eventually, the eagle and its prize drifted into a grassy island. Here it alternated between feeding and trying to take off with its prey, or so I thought.

After watching for a while I became concerned that its talon was actually stuck in its prey. It would appear to attempt to fly or move away but one leg always stretched out and firmly attached to its prey.

After watching this for a while I decided to call the refuge headquarters to see if they wanted to check it out. But as the phone was ringing the eagle freed itself and flew off, fortunately in my direction.