Bald Eagles

We duck hunted in an area near the Sangamon River one weekend with a guy who had lived and hunted there all his life. He said there used to be an eagle in one blind spot that would grab downed waterfowl and take it to its tree. It would then just drop it from the tree to the ground. Did this all morning. At the end of the hunt the guys would go around the pond to the base of this tree and grab all their birds. This happened for a few seasons.

Take it as a hunting tale. I thought it was believable based on the source.
 
One of the best things about our Alaska cruises was seeing the Eagles. They seemed as common as pigeons in the lower 48.
 
Ed Haywood said:
How does one do that?
Click to expand...
From what I've gathered from people who've been successful, it's mostly a matter of (a) having them in the general area, (b) giving them shelter in a wooded area, and (c) luck. We've got (a) and (b), but (c) remains to be seen. We hope it helps that we have a self-propelled buffet very close to where we mounted an owl box. Time will tell.

Nauga,
vole faithful
 
Myself and my cousins had homing pigeons when we were growing up. My Uncle who worked out of town often would take the birds and release them out of town somewhere and they always returned.
I would let them out during the day they would be back in the coup before dark.
I was thinking it be neat to have them again and I could release them at some far away airport. Then race them home in my plane. That might be fun for a while.
 
X3 Skier said:
One of the best things about our Alaska cruises was seeing the Eagles. They seemed as common as pigeons in the lower 48.
Click to expand...
:yeahthat:

Saw several bald eagles near Skagway and some golden eagles in Denali NP when we were there in August.
 
Ed Haywood said:
In the past week I have seen at least a dozen bald eagles in central FL. They are usually circling at 2k AGL. ...
Click to expand...
I always try to fly above large birds, but that isn't always possible because I don't always see them in time to climb, and I've seen them as high as 9,000' MSL :eek2:
Here's one I photoed in my back yard a few years ago. There was a small pile of rabbit bones at the base of that tree, I assume she created it - look at those talons!
CRW_4529.jpg
 
There was a few times in Sitka when I had to hold short so the bird truck could shoo the eagles off the runway and/or from over the runway.
 
Bald eagles are all over the place in SE AK.
Years ago I drove into Haines in the fall to catch the ferry home and couldn't believe how many I saw along the river feeding on the salmon running.

Here in NV they gather in the spring when the cattle are birthing.
There are a couple Golden eagles around too but I don't know if I've ever seen one.
 
nauga said:
From what I've gathered from people who've been successful, it's mostly a matter of (a) having them in the general area, (b) giving them shelter in a wooded area, and (c) luck. We've got (a) and (b), but (c) remains to be seen. We hope it helps that we have a self-propelled buffet very close to where we mounted an owl box. Time will tell.

Nauga,
vole faithful
Click to expand...
If you want to bring them in close, download the Audubon Society app onto your phone. It has recorded calls for all species of North American birds. Get a decent Bluetooth speaker and pair it to your phone. Pull up Barred Owl and play a couple of different calls with the volume turned up. If they are within a mile, they will come. I live in an urban area but my backyard abuts about 12acre of bottomlands between my house and a river. When I play the calls I have had them land on my gutter 6 feet above my head and circle around in the trees in my back yard. Now, if you can, with a separate phone and speaker, pull up a rodent call, you might be open for business! :biggrin: Excuse the impromptu crappy cell phone pics. None of these were more than 60ft away.

IMG_0320.jpegIMG_0320.jpegIMG_0775.jpegIMG_0845.jpeg
 
Last edited:
robin ardoin said:
If you want to bring them in close, download the Audubon Society app onto your phone. It has recorded calls for all species of North American birds. Get a decent Bluetooth speaker and pair it to your phone. Pull up Barred Owl and play a couple of different calls with the volume turned up.
Click to expand...

That's cheating. I say go out in your backyard and imitate them yourself. Cup your hands and yell "Hoo-hoo-hoo-oooo"!
 
Ed Haywood said:
That's cheating. I say go out in your backyard and imitate them yourself. Cup your hands and yell "Hoo-hoo-hoo-oooo"!
Click to expand...
I do that as well, but the neighbors tend to look at me a little funny. ;) My mother was an ornithologist so I grew up imitating various birds. My mom would have conversations with groups of Barred Owls in the woods behind our home or at the 'deer camp'. If you have never heard an owl hootenanny, you are missing out. They get going in my backyard several times a week during certain months. It is comically entertaining. My miniature Xoloitzcuintli doesn't find it amusing, though. The owls look at her like young boy looks at a corndog at the fair.
 
robin ardoin said:
... My miniature Xoloitzcuintli doesn't find it amusing, though. The owls look at her like young boy looks at a corndog at the fair.
Click to expand...
Years ago when we moved from Si Valley to Orcas Island, our cats had grown up in the city and never lived in a wild rural location. On Orcas there were many eagles, owls, etc. The very first time the cats heard an eagle screech overhead they immediately ran for cover. They had never heard that sound before, it could not be learned behavior, must be instinctual.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Think of the optical acuity to spot a rabbit from 2,000 feet, then dive on it at 100mph.
Click to expand...

Eagles are becoming quite common around here, too. I see them steal more fish from Osprey, or scare off buzzards to take over their meal. Our eagles may be lazy and or privileged. I think the Osprey is the most underrated bird. They are the most impressive hunters around here.
 
robin ardoin said:
Pull up Barred Owl and play a couple of different calls with the volume turned up. If they are withing a mile, they will come.
Click to expand...
What time of day is best? We generally hear them in the distance in the morning, but I've heard they're also active during the day.
Heck, I'll hoot if that works, we really want them here.

Nauga,
a hootin' and a hollerin'
 
Ed Haywood said:
Think of the optical acuity to spot a rabbit from 2,000 feet, then dive on it at 100mph.
Click to expand...


I can take a boat ride and find half a dozen nesting eagles. I don't mean to disrespect the Eagles, but Ive seen them steal more fish from Osprey, or scare buzzards off and take over their meal, than I've seen them fish on their own. Osprey are the true hunters around here. Death from above, they are.
 
I've seen an eagle steal a wounded Mallard from a hunter while duck hunting on the IL river. Cool when it's happening to the other guy.
We had an eagle in our backyard last week. We just happened to be looking out the back window at the right moment. It had a squirrel in its grasp.
As an owner of chickens, I'd welcome open season on Hawks, as long as their population is healthy. They are cool as hell when I've seen dead ones about, some really sharp talons. They're a close 2nd to minks as far as depredation of my flock. Minks aren't around here a lot, despite living on a creek, but when they are it's devastating.
 
nauga said:
What time of day is best? We generally hear them in the distance in the morning, but I've heard they're also active during the day.
Heck, I'll hoot if that works, we really want them here.

Nauga,
a hootin' and a hollerin'
Click to expand...
I always 'mess' with them in the latter afternoon, but yes, we hear them all hours of the day/night. Typically, they are nocturnal/low light hunters; I would think that it would be most productive in the late afternoon. I've had as many as five 'in the pattern' at once. It is worth the effort even if they don't decide to feed on the rodents.
 
robin ardoin said:
If you want to bring them in close, download the Audubon Society app onto your phone. It has recorded calls for all species of North American birds. Get a decent Bluetooth speaker and pair it to your phone. Pull up Barred Owl and play a couple of different calls with the volume turned up. If they are withing a mile, they will come. I live in an urban area but my backyard abuts about 12acre of bottomlands between my house and a river. When I play the calls I have had them land on my gutter 6 feet above my head and circle around in the trees in my back yard. Now, if you can, with a separate phone and speaker, pull up a rodent call, you might be open for business! :biggrin: Excuse the impromptu crappy cell phone pics. None of these were more than 60ft away.

View attachment 146894View attachment 146894View attachment 146895View attachment 146896
Click to expand...
Was going to suggest this. There's an electric game call that you can download barred owl sounds. But this sounds better!

We've had great horned owls eat skunks. So start plinking them for bait.
 
Mahneuvers said:
My son just hid one of these in his roommate's desk. Maybe someone should create an owl version.
Click to expand...
Did something related back in high school. I'd come up with a small oscillator circuit that, with a small speaker, would fit in a Milk Duds box. Set the frequency REALLY high, and strolled into a classroom. Bugged a lot of people....

Ron Wanttaja
 
Racerx said:
Speaking of birds of prey. Ive got great horned owls in my woods.
Click to expand...

Love them. We have a couple in our back tree line who have been here for a few years now (or at least their offspring are now). One of my favorite summer activities is laying on the couch on the back deck on a nice night, listening to them
 
35 AoA said:
Love them. We have a couple in our back tree line who have been here for a few years now (or at least their offspring are now). One of my favorite summer activities is laying on the couch on the back deck on a nice night, listening to them
Click to expand...
Crack open the window and can hear 3 or 4 go off all night.
 
midwestpa24 said:
When I was younger I don't ever recall seeing a bald eagle in the wild. Today I can probably find at least one in a 5 minute car ride.
Click to expand...
Sometimes, those darn gubmint environmental regulations do good things.

The only Bald Eagle I saw growing up was one that was in captivity being rehabilitated from an injury. They were very rare. I'm very happy to see them much more often now - Most recently, I was kayaking down a river in Minnesota this summer and one caught a fish right in front of me and then dropped a feather right into my kayak on his climb-out. Awesome.

20+ years ago I saw a birds-of-prey demonstration in southern France called Les Aigles de Beaucaire, held at the medieval castle Château de Beaucare where they had bald eagles (no rules about them being in captivity in France, of course). It was really cool to see them up close, even had one buzz me so close its wing brushed my head. They're really majestic birds.

DSCN1231.pngDSCN1235.png
 
GaryM said:
We live in Eagle Central here. North Idaho has a healthy year-round population, but in late November-early December, when untold thousands of Kokanee salmon return to Wolf Lodge Bay in Lake Coeur d'Alene to spawn, a LOT of migratory eagles descent on the bay to feast. Weekly eagle counts often exceed 300, and two years ago over 400 eagles were counted around the bay. It's quite a sight.

https://www.blm.gov/programs/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife/about/idaho/lake-coeurdalene-eagle-watch

In late November, the local SCUBA group makes a dive in the bay to watch the Kokanee. I missed it last year, but am looking forward to the dive this year.
Click to expand...
I made the Kokanee dive this past Sunday, a little chilly, but well worth it. Incredible numbers of salmon schooling about.
IMG_7367 (1).jpg

This video captures some of the action; I'm the guy with the yellow regulator who shows up between minutes 1 and 2.

Kokanee dive

And here is an awesome video of bald eagles fishing, taken two years ago in the bay. Impressive birds. Unlike Osprey, eagles can't take off from water, so they've mastered the snatch-and-grab from the air.

Eagles fishing in Lake Coeur d'Alene
 
I grew up in NW Illinois along the Mississippi River, across from Clinton, Iowa. A predominant feature of the area was Lock and Dam 13 on the river. It has the largest backwater behind the dam of all the locks on the river.

In the late fall/winter, as the river froze, the eagles from up and down the surrounding area would gather to fish the turbulent, perennially-unfrozen water South of the dam. I've personally counted over 75 eagles in the trees around the dam, and that wasn't unusual.

In the 70's and 80's I had a grass strip that paralleled the river near the dam. Base leg landing to the North was actually over the dam. Had a Champ I rebuilt out of a corn crib in which I shared the airspace with these magnificent birds for probably 15 years. Amazing memories!

Jim
 
Last edited:
Many, many years ago I was working doing hurricane cleanup, and part of my job was driving a dually and dump trailer to the landfill hauling debris. At the landfill was literal hundreds of bald and golden eagles just walking among the trucks dumping. They were wild, but would walk right past you to see what you were dumping. It was pretty intimidating to have a bunch of three foot tall raptors walking within a foot or two of you.
 
Eagles I've not seen hunt in person, but we have ospreys here. It's amazing how they can go from a soar to straight down to nab a fish.
 
GaryM said:
I made the Kokanee dive this past Sunday, a little chilly, but well worth it. Incredible numbers of salmon schooling about.
View attachment 147289

This video captures some of the action; I'm the guy with the yellow regulator who shows up between minutes 1 and 2.

Kokanee dive

And here is an awesome video of bald eagles fishing, taken two years ago in the bay. Impressive birds. Unlike Osprey, eagles can't take off from water, so they've mastered the snatch-and-grab from the air.

Eagles fishing in Lake Coeur d'Alene
Click to expand...
That's a very nice video!
 
Last edited:
Speaking of Bald Eagles, I was finishing the condition inspection on the RV today and just after I completed the last task and added fuel, one flew right over my hangar. Of course, I couldn't get the iPhone to focus before it flew out of sight, so no pics.

This is the second time I've see one at/over VPC.
 
midwestpa24 said:
It was pretty intimidating to have a bunch of three foot tall raptors walking within a foot or two of you.
Click to expand...
Despite knowing that birds are the only surviving dinosaur species, that knowledge never hit home until I saw an emu walk by me at a wildlife sanctuary in Australia.
Eagles are definitely a close second on the dinosaur reminder list.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top