Monday, December 02, 2024

Bald Eagle on Watch

BALD EAGLE shot taken on the way to coffee.  Bald Eagle pairs typically raise one chick a year, though they can raise a pair.  One nest I watched hatched three eggs, but the “extra” chick was forked out of the nest after a few weeks, by either a sibling or his/her parent.

I have never seen a Bald Eagle nest that was *not* in a sycamore tree near water.  Sycamores are big trees, and their branches are strong enough — and far enough apart from each other — that they can support a 6-10 foot wide Eagle nest *and* allow the Eagles to take off and land without branches interfering.

Bald Eagles will feed on carrion, such as dead deer, but they are primarily fish eaters.  I have seen a few feeding on cats, but I suspect the cats were most likely  roadkill. As a general rule, most predators feed farther down the food chain than most imagine, as even the most minor injury to foot, claw, canine, or tendon is potentially fatal.

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