Yesterday (10 Jan) I was scanning Cayuga Lake from Allan Treman State Marine Park. Viewing conditions to the north showed such detail of buildings at Myers that I hoped to see the Trumpeter Swans somewhere along the shore, but no luck. Either they were obscured by whitecaps or they were elsewhere. The most intriguing thing I saw was over the lake.
First, an immature Bald Eagle flew low over the water, reached down, grabbed what might have been a small and skinny fish, then flew toward the trees on the west shore, with feet extended to the rear against its tail. I thought that showed me it was carrying something, but I couldn’t make out exactly what. Some time later (I spent a long time there) I saw a different immature Bald Eagle, with more extensive white on the underside of the flight feathers of its wings, carrying a large long fish. The fish dangled straight down and seemed not to be held very well. An adult Great Black-backed Gull followed close behind but did not seem to be a major irritant. Yet the eagle dropped the fish, I suspect just losing grip, and it fell to the water. The gull dropped down but simply sat on the water. That fish was far too large for the gull to carry, and maybe the time to tear off bites of it, if it remained at the surface, was not when a hungry eagle was overhead. I looked back at the eagle, wondering if it would try to pick up the fish again, but it didn’t. Next thing I saw, a darker eagle, perhaps the first one, flew across my view, carrying what could have been the same large fish that the whiter eagle had dropped. Again, the fish dangled straight down, but less tenuously I thought. The whiter eagle followed, and I noticed she was larger than the dark one. (Female Bald Eagles, like most birds of prey, are larger than males. The additional white may have been individual variation, or if the white included the belly it would mean she is a year older. I’ll have to take more note of plumage details next time!) She followed, gaining, and rising up toward him. It did not seem to me like an attack, yet he dropped the fish. And she immediately grabbed it in mid-air just a few feet below him, before it had gained much speed. She carried it to a large tree on West Hill and settled in to eat. I lost track of the male, who did not fly or perch close to her. Why did he drop the fish? Did he lose his grip, as she apparently had? Was he cowed by the larger and perhaps older eagle approaching? That seems very possible. Was it a matter of cooperation, perhaps among siblings, since he had just eaten anyway? That seems doubtful to me. Or was it a deliberate gift to a potential mate, even though both birds are nowhere near adult plumage? I hope to see them again and find out. - - Dave Nutter -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") Cayugabirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/cayugabirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) aba_DOT_org/birding-news/ Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
