For lovers of Eagles

[Helldiver]

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All lovers of eagles will love this story !!
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PILOT STORY <o:p></o:p>

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This is pretty neat description of aerial combat.

Kill'em and Eat'em <o:p></o:p>


This came from a gent who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron, Wi., not far from Oshkosh . He used to fly F-4Es and F-16s for the Guard and participated in the first Gulf War. <o:p></o:p>


His story:

I went out to plant corn for a bit to finish a field before tomorrow morning and witnessed The Great Battle . A golden eagle - big, with about a six foot wingspan - flew right in front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were continually dive bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this because the eagles rob their nests when they find them.

At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too, and took up positions around the eagle at 120 degrees apart, but kept their distance of about 20 feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their distance. Then the reinforcement showed up.

I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the eagle on the ground took flight, (obviously a coordinated tactic; probably pre-briefed) and the three crows which were watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going to get in some more pecking on the big bird.

The first crow being targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell. There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.

The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at about 20 feet AGL.

This aerial battle was better than any air show I've been to, including the war birds show at Oshkosh . The two eagles ripped the crows apart and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky. What a beautiful bird!

I loved it. Not only did they kill their enemy, they ate them. One of the best Fighter Pilot stories I've seen in a long time... There are no noble wars-- Only noble warriors <o:p></o:p>





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[gajit]

Thanks Helldiver for that - we have a good number of buzzards, Sparrow Hawks and other b of p in this area at the moment that look spectacular on the wing - but never seen anything like what was described. :ernae:

[hews500d]

Man that must have been something to see! Thanks for sharing.

Darrell

[Lionheart]

Pretty cool story.

Crows can grow to be huge birds, but Eagles are gigantic. Up in Flagstaff, we have Bald Eagles. Majestic birds. In Flagstaff there are these huge crows. I havent seen them this big anywheres else. The Eagles do indeed have 6 feet wingspans. They look like RC planes up there, small aircraft soaring around.



Bill

[skyhawka4m]

Just saw a Bald Eagle the other day get into a dogfight with an Osprey over a fish.......you wanna see something cool.....I was amazed at the agility and moves these birds put on.......the Osprey was able to keep its fish but the Eagle chased it out of its fishing area.

[Peritas]

Thanks Helldiver! The eagle was symbol of the Roman Legions.

Luca

[Javis]

The crows were only defending their homes and childern... I think *they* are the real heros in this story.. ;)

cheers,
jan

[BOOM]

Predator and Prey

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/badaboom/eagle.jpg

[mfitch]

The only down side to having lots of eagles around is that they don't abide by FAA right-of-way regulations. The local sectional chart has lots of warning about fowl (mostly migratory).

I do love watching the bald eagles here. On a few occasions I have also seen golden eagles which are even larger. It is impressive watching them hunt. They use ground hugging techniques to avoid detection.

[TARPSBird]

That engagement was right out of the Eagle Tactical Manual. The manual is classified Confidential so they keep it locked up back at the nest. Wouldn't want that information falling into the hands of sparrows or - God forbid - seagulls. ;)

[txnetcop]

Great story Bob!:ernae:

[Bjoern]

Next time you'll see a bunch of crows with a camouflaged ZSU eagerly waiting for payback...

[Sundog]

I saw a Falcon take out a Robin outside of my window here earlier this year. I wasn't paying attention at first, but I heard all kinds of squawking and chirping and turned to see what the commotion was. At first I thought it was a couple of frisky birds, then I noticed they were two different birds fighting. The Robin put up a hell of fight, but once the Falcon got it by both talons and flew it down to the ground and pinned it against the ground then started ripping at it with it's beak I knew it was all over for the Robin. The Robin hung on for a few more minutes, but once it was dead, the Falcon took off with it. It was a hell of a thing to see.

[Helldiver]

We have about 25 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles here in Newburyport. They're something to see, especially when you don't expect them. Their fishing skills are unequalled among birds. I've seen some pretty big fish caught in their talons and yet they catty them away..

[warchild]

I took this about a half mile out from this fella, using a 200mm zoom lens.. Hope you like it.
Pam

[spotlope]

And to think, Ben Franklin advocated for the turkey as our national bird... :USA-flag: