Free Range Photography

This morning at the river it was cool and overcast, a welcome respite from a few days of oppressive heat. Suddenly, I heard the cry of an Osprey and I whirled my camera around and pointed it in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, an Osprey was speeding along in a downstream direction, maybe 50 feet above the water. In hot pursuit not far behind was a Bald Eagle.

This told me that the Osprey had something in his talons that the Bald Eagle wanted. I watched and snapped photos as the chase ensued.

The Osprey was more agile than the eagle, but the eagle seemed faster. The Osprey banked on sharp turns, just twisting out of the eagle’s range and gaining a bit of space over and over.

More evasive banking and sharp turns took the pair in a series of S curves over the river. The Osprey continued to cry out intermittently.

Normally, I’d be rooting for the Osprey to get away with his catch. However, since I am guessing this eagle is one of the Benbow Pair who have a huge 8-9 week old eaglet on the nest just a mile or so south of this encounter I found myself pulling instead for the opportunistic national bird.

The last time I saw an Osprey with a catch chased by an eagle, the Osprey got away without losing its meal. Another time, I saw an Osprey drop the fish into the water and the chasing eagle never even bothered to retrieve it, but just flew off, perhaps to pick on someone else.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bald Eagles. But I do not kid myself that they are noble or majestic. While they are highly skilled predators, they are also expert thieves. A ten-year old boy who lived on the road up to the Benbow nest once told me the story of the local eagle swooping down and swiping a fish right off his fishing pole just as he pulled his catch out of the water. My guess is the bird was watching from not far away as the boy threw his line into the water, and liked the odds of acquiring an easy meal. Candy from a baby.

It’s impossible to know why the Osprey gave up the fight when he did. He will likely catch another fish, and may conceal himself better to consume it. He may well have a nest of his own with young to feed. There is an active Osprey nest a couple miles south of the Benbow Bald Eagle nest. When I looked at the time stamps on my photos, I realized this whole episode had only lasted 45 seconds. The thrill of witnessing these magnificent creatures going about the business of survival will stay with me forever.