Bald Eagle Thief

Bald Eagle Thief



I walking around the marina in Sanford a little while ago, and I had a pretty memorable experience.

As I walked by a tree, a young Cooper’s Hawk with a flushed and flew up into a different tree.

That was surprising and cool enough, but a must have seen all that happened, and it flew over to investigate the tree with the Cooper’s Hawk.

 

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Bald Eagle Flying Away with a Stolen Rock Pigeon
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Bald EagleIt was so close to me that this is a full frame image. With its eyes on the Cooper’s Hawk it didn’t seem to care about me one bit.

It then descended into the tree, and the Cooper’s Hawk freaked out, flew into another tree, and dropped its prey. This photo is not as sharp as I would like, but I believe this is a full frame image, or nearly so. The action took place so close to me, I didn’t even have time to back up.

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Cooper’s Hawk Freaking out and heading into another tree with a Rock Pigeon
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Bald Eagle with Rock PigeonYou can make out a little bit of the bird at the bottom of the rame, but unfortunately, I didn’t have much choice but to cut off the eagle’s tail.

The eagle lost no time in thieving the Rock Pigeon. I tried to backup to give it more space, but once I moved it flew off.

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Bald Eagle in Flight

 

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Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons, based in Florida, is a lover of nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. Scott became interested in photography in 2001 when he was given his first SLR camera. When he acquired a telephoto lens, he became progressively more interested in birds and other wildlife. Scott enjoys learning about bird habitats and behavior, striving always to take images that are both beautiful and interpretive. Scott believes photography is a great vehicle to help others to appreciate the wonder for the stuff of earth.

Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons, based in Florida, is a lover of nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. Scott became interested in photography in 2001 when he was given his first SLR camera. When he acquired a telephoto lens, he became progressively more interested in birds and other wildlife. Scott enjoys learning about bird habitats and behavior, striving always to take images that are both beautiful and interpretive. Scott believes photography is a great vehicle to help others to appreciate the wonder for the stuff of earth.

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