Two bald eagles fighting in the air, couldn't get untangled, came all the way to the ground still tangled. Both ended up ok.



I love the disgusted look on the one eagle's face--the same look I'd have if my picture made the papers for a crash landing!!!



http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/two-bald-eagles-in-air-battle-crash-land-at-airport/

While walking with my dog, we passed a pond where several Canadian geese were cruising. As my dog approached the pond, they steamed toward the other bank. When my dog ran around to head them off, they made a formation Vx takeoff over my dog. One goose began to mush (settle with power if you're thinking more like a helicopter.) This goose smartly dove into ground (pond) effect and then zoomed just over my dog. It should have made a low ground effect takeoff with a zoom over the dog to begin with. Stupid goose.

My wife and I where hiking Beaver Creek the other day and saw three black tailed hawks in a mating dance. Well male hawk #2 (I assume it was male, unless the alternate sexual lifestyle is spreading to birds) climbed up, went into a stoop and hit and killed male hawk #1. Then flew off with, I assume, female hawk on his wing. They do get all worked up on who gets who's DNA. I actually have my neighborhood Bald Eagle that nails duck on the golf course and eats them in my yard. He is also cleaning the neighborhood out of small dogs. My cat has decided, while mr eagle is in residence, he needs a whole lot of sleep during the day.

My favorite bit from the original article was:

“Surprisingly, the two eagles were remarkably calm as I grabbed them both and loaded them into the back of my truck,” Hanzal said. “I think they were still more intent on winning the battle than any concern for me.”

Awesome.

When hang gliding near Livingston, MT, bald eagles in a carnal, tumbling embrace would fall past my wing repeatedly every late March/early April. Quite a sight. Noisy as they passed by, too.

Falling out of the air in a carnal, tumbling embrace...sounds like most of my attempts to make any kind of a decent spot landing.

Possible they were fighting, more likely they were fornicating Male and female look just alike unless you really look close and they will lock talons and spiral and tumble and drop thousands of feet then usually let go and zoom apart just before they hit the ground. Sometimes they get too engrossed and go splat.

I picked one up years ago that had been doing one or the other and had a puncture wound in it's knee joint that had caused a major infection. I just trotted up and dropped a fish net over it's head and put it in a plastic tote box padded with a blanket.
We shipped the bird to Juneau and then on to Sitka to the re-hab center. A few weeks later we got a really nice letter from them thanking us for our efforts to save the bird. It had died but they said it had "lots of really good parts on it"

I thought about frankeneagle and wondered what the hell those people were doing down there so I called them to ask.
They told me that most of the dead birds they get are very damaged, car hit, electrocution and so on. A lot of the live birds they get in only have feather or talon damage but can't be release for nearly a year before they grow new feathers so they harvest good feathers and talons from "donor" birds and just glue them into the broken feather shaft. They replace talons and have even made prosthetic beaks. This way birds can be fixed up and released in a matter of days.

So less like Frankenstein and more like a good body and fender shop.

hahaha, wild!

Crash landing with a happy ending. Sounds like a good way to describe doing a base jump.The other is sex and a car accident at the same time.

shorton wrote:Possible they were fighting, more likely they were fornicating Male and female look just alike unless you really look close and they will lock talons and spiral and tumble and drop thousands of feet then usually let go and zoom apart just before they hit the ground. Sometimes they get too engrossed and go splat.

I picked one up years ago that had been doing one or the other and had a puncture wound in it's knee joint that had caused a major infection. I just trotted up and dropped a fish net over it's head and put it in a plastic tote box padded with a blanket.
We shipped the bird to Juneau and then on to Sitka to the re-hab center. A few weeks later we got a really nice letter from them thanking us for our efforts to save the bird. It had died but they said it had "lots of really good parts on it"

I thought about frankeneagle and wondered what the hell those people were doing down there so I called them to ask.
They told me that most of the dead birds they get are very damaged, car hit, electrocution and so on. A lot of the live birds they get in only have feather or talon damage but can't be release for nearly a year before they grow new feathers so they harvest good feathers and talons from "donor" birds and just glue them into the broken feather shaft. They replace talons and have even made prosthetic beaks. This way birds can be fixed up and released in a matter of days.

So less like Frankenstein and more like a good body and fender shop.

You're correct that this was most likely a mating flight.

And, actually, most of the "spare parts" go to the Eagle Parts Repository, where they are re-distributed to Native American religious practitioners whose culture used eagle parts in their dress and ceremonies. It's a big deal, since otherwise, more healthy eagles would be killed for Native use.

MTV

Sounds like a case of an attempt to join the Mile High Club gone awry!

Cary

Typical, women will often bring ya down or on a positive aspect make you grounded.

As a wildlife photographer here in Alaska I see it quite a bit. The first image has three bald eagles in it about to lock talons. I have had as many as 5 in one frame when the breeding is in full swing. The second image is of the top eagle with a fish in its talons and the lower eagle about to take it!