Flint Hills of Kansas
Early one morning a little over a week ago (this is being compiled 2/18/24) I got a phone call from Carla, a friend of mine. She was on her way to a doctor appointment and saw some Eagles eating on a road killed deer in a grassy easement pullout just south of Hamilton on highway 99. I had just finished morning chores and was in the middle of eating some breakfast. As hurriedly as I could I put it down, get packed and loaded up, and took off hoping the Eagles would still be at the site by the time I got there. The high speed chase took about 20 minutes from the time I got her call, but there they were. Well, one of them.
I went past to get the Sun behind me, turned around, and eased to a stop just beyond the end of the creek bridge. The feeding Eagle (Carla said “Eagles” but at first sight I only saw one) was immediately concerned by my arrival, even though I was about 70 yards away.
I eased out of the truck and peeked around the front fender to get the bird in focus and see how many decent pics I could get before it took off. It had already stopped eating and was looking my way, so I knew I might not get many chances.
The handsome Eagle clearly wanted to eat some more despite it’s temerity, so maybe I had hope after all.
Greed won out and the Eagle resumed eating. But not for long...
A second Eagle suddenly appeared flying from a perch in the trees along a nearby fence line. It swooped down low and brushed right over it’s partner’s head before taking off across the highway on its way just over the treetops to disappear on the other side of a ridge creating the western horizon.
The warning worked! My feeding Eagle lifted off to follow it’s companion. At first the bird flew more or less in my direction. But, as soon as it got on it’s wings with air under them it made an aerial pivot to head for cover in the trees along the fence line.
Whoa! Look at those beautiful blue wings! I had never noted an Eagle with blue wings before. My favorite Eagle from last year was an immature bird I named White Wings. Now I see an adult with blue wings! Could it be the light playing a trick on my eyes?
Wowzer! Now they are even bluer. Good trick! I just learned that Eagles are among birds who have feathers with iridescent features. It amazes me that I never noticed it on a flying Eagle until now.
Once straightened out for speed the blue winged Eagle looked more like I would expect it to, but I will remember those beautiful blue wings.
The Eagle headed right for the fence row but just before getting that far it again reversed direction and took off across the highway to follow the other one. It was clearly undecided on what it wanted to do. The bird apparently concluded it wasn’t done with that deer just yet and turned off to the south following the treetops bordering a pleasantly inviting creek. It kept going until it got behind my position, then sought out a perch to wait for me to leave.
The Eagle decides on a safe perch.
Time to get safely settled in case this game takes awhile to win.
Settled in and ready to wait as long as it takes. The bird's head was on a swivel, looking first at me, then at the deer laying on the other side of the highway. Back and forth. It was clearly weighing the difference between apprehension or satisfaction.
Eagles do not scan. They move their head robotically from one point to another. I call it positive stop. Sometimes after staring at something for awhile they will abruptly drop their beak downward, then return it immediately to the previous position. Refocus. It is a move I try to emulate while pow wow dancing, and that is one big reason why I so diligently pursue Eagles as my top subject of interest. It is easy to recognize most traditional dancers reproducing Eagle’s head movement style as it is a basic ‘looking for the enemy’ move.
After retreating back into my truck (it was very chilly and I thought I could traffic approaching from behind) I had a decision of my own to make. Something along the lines of bird in hand or bird in bush. I decided on bird in hand. I was satisfied I captured some decent pics and didn’t want to stress the bird any more than I already had. I started the engine and pulled out to head for home.
Are you all Eagled out? I sure hope not because little did I know that this day of Eagles was just getting started.
I got back on the Wagon Trail toward home. Once within about 4 miles of home I came upon the side road (AA) that leads me on one of my favorite longer circle birding routes, and decided to take that way home. With an unusual sequence of photos safely stored on my camera card it felt like I was playing with bank’s money. I didn’t know when I would have another chance to come see what was happening on this loop, so I turned off to see what I could see. I passed an area that always deserves a close loop (I had a nice session with a Barred Owl at close range here and several Harrier sessions, not to mention several Eagle opportunities) but this trip I didn’t see a thing. I proceeded to the top of the hill where AA junctions with 280th. 280 is mostly a tractor trail and is where my circle begins in earnest.
On top of the hill I shot a glance downhill toward the east and glimpsed a flash of movement through the brush and trees lining the pasture on the other side of the tractor trail. I had been creeping along very slowly so stopping was quick and easy. I studied the spot where I thought I might have seen something. There it was again! It was the white head of a mature Eagle on the ground behind something large. What luck! Then I saw two white heads along with several others that weren’t white. This was a sizable bunch of Eagles together and they were eating on something. Perfect, and just exactly what I wanted to find. Whenever there are multiple Eagles eating on something at the same time interaction is always a possibility. My pard Jeff has proven that many times. What an ideal dream setup for me. I crept the rest of the way to the top bending as low as I could, sneaking down the trail to get within range for some photos. I had just one more little rise to top and I would have them in sight...
Just as I started to top that last little rise the entire bunch of Eagle suddenly took to their wings and flew low to the ground until they came to a growth of young timber on the other side of the lot. Then they split up, each going their own way. I looked down the hill and saw the dead calf they had been working on. I also saw that some of the Eagles took to perches in trees scattered around the lot. Some were far away, some closer. None were still on the ground eating on their prize. I felt crushed. However, crushed didn’t last long. One youngster returned, flying in an abbreviated circle. It decided to land and feed all by itself. All by itself except for me! I crouched on the ground behind a tree trunk with my camera lens poked through between the strands of wire…
The young Eagle eyed me briefly, wanting very much to attend to the business at claw.
This is the ‘checking me out briefly’ part. Studying every angle of their surroundings is something every Eagle spends most of its time doing, especially when they have something to eat in their possession. They learn in the nest that something not yet down the hatch is likely to be stolen from them. Even closer
Apparently it saw something about me it didn’t trust. It quickly shot a stream to lighten the load, so I knew this bird was about to take off again.
It launched quicker than I expected. I was on my knees with my camera lens poked through the fence. My long lens was between two strands of barbed wire. When the bird rose I tracked in the viewfinder but my lens was prevented from rising once it hit the top strand. Arrgh!
Never mind that, I’ll accept a pic like this original image every time! Context! Accepting a pic is one thing, but trying to produce something that at least makes it look intentional is another thing entirely. I cropped it to bring this beautiful Eagle really close up, which is how the lead pic for this story happened. Scroll back to the top and check it out again. I love both of them!
The first wingbeat after launching is always an upstroke. That is what you see above.
Then comes the downstroke which thrusts the bird higher. Can’t resist, we have to see this one closer too...
Awesome, even if it is creating a big shadow for itself.
Hey, I haven’t named this bird yet. If we depart from reality for a second, and delve into fantasy, I can see a resemblance to a Star Wars character...how about DARTH EAGLE? Nope? No worries. I have an alternative selection brewing in my naming bucket.
The up flap preparing for another downstroke. It gains 3-6 feet of altitude with a single stroke of it's powerful wings in the early phase after takeoff, but that amount of gain increases as it's altitude increases because at the same time the speed and power of propulsion is rapidly increasing as well. Rising Eagle
It has already ascended higher than the tree shadows so it begins charting a course of travel. The next downstroke is already in process. Those primary feathers (also called "spikes") are very rigid, but this bird is exerting sufficient force those stiff quills are bending like wet strings.
Culminating a final downstroke. Now the bird will perform what amounts to a drop step and instantly reverses direction in order to fly downhill to land in an old snag along the fence line at the eastern end of the lot. That puts the Sun at its back and directly in my eyes. Funny how that works every time.
Safe from any ground based attack but leery of my presence, it is deciding on it's next move. You can see it has one eye on me, but the other eye is looking straight east. It's next move was to take off and fly just above ground level straight east. It takes off so fast (Rising Eagle would make a good name?) and has such pretty streaked markings on its breast I think that is what I’ll call this bird. STREAK.
Taking off at ground level straight east was my next move too, but I went a lot slower than our bird did. As I was nearing a second feedlot I noticed Eagles perched in a distant tree along a fence line extending to the south from the tractor trail called 280th. I made my truck creep along so slowly I could barely tell I was even moving. Not even a splash on the water as I crossed a small creek running over the trail! There is a dirt lane running along southward under the tree line that has their far away perch tree in it. I should have been paying closer attention to what was right in front of me but I had my mind on those Eagles in the tree. As I neared the lane I saw some sudden movement just inside the fence RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! I stopped and bailed out immediately. Immediately is too slow. There were several Eagles on the ground feeding on yet another large pile of beef, but as soon as I began to stop they were off and flying. Arrrrgh!
Flying Eagles overhead is never something I turn down. It soon became clear they were not anxious to leave such a feed bonanza as they circled around and around overhead instead of flying away.
A mature Eagle I had just rousted off the dead bull is now circling overhead.
Hey, wait a minute. There is something about this bird that looks very familiar!
Do I see blue on the underwing feathers of this beautiful bird? I do! This is Blue Wings, the very same Eagle I saw earlier this morning eating on the dead deer more than eight miles south over on highway 99! It had circled around and beat me to this place. Amazing!
Sure enough. It is the same bird! And here I am keeping it from yet another feast. It kept circling, occasionally dropping lower to make closer passes. Did it recognize me?
Blue Wings would come down low and then quickly regain altitude. Those Eagle eyes can see me clearly even from a distance, but it seems intent on getting a good look.
A good look indeed! This bird probably knows my driver license number!
Blue Wings really wants that food!
Blue Wings is getting braver with every passing circle.
As Blue Wings got braver my hopes got higher that the pack would return to deliver my dream scenario of multiple Eagles at the same feeding spot. But that is not what happened. On a final pass my bird took off across the pasture, looping back toward the west. It was followed by several others. Anyone care to guess where they were going? I had just left there! It was getting behind me again. Funny how that works.
Bald Eagle BIF. Blue Wings leading the exit.
I decided to sneak up underneath the tree canopy to see if the remaining Eagles perched in the far tree would return to the ground to eat. I went what I thought was about half way to the perch tree and stopped to hide under the front end overhang of a stock trailer parked there. I could see two more carcasses in a bare spot in the grass just beyond the fence. That just has to be what they’re intent on. After about twenty minutes of hiding by the trailer I saw one bird come swooping down from the tree.
Our young Eagle ‘Streak’ has relocated to another dead calf a mile and a half eastward of our first meeting. Visible behind the bird are the remains of yet another calf the Eagles have already cleaned up. From the trail I could see four carcasses in this pasture and yet another on the other side of the main trail. In all I found fifteen dead cattle in seven adjacent pastures the birds could pick from. That made pulling my puppet strings easy for them.
I was forced to accept that they had me figured out and knew just what to do to keep me on the run while they just moved around from one feeding site to another. Win/win for them. I could see they had developed an unbeatable system, so this wasn’t going to be an easy contest for me to win. I decided to go home and get to work and think about a new plan of action. And that’s just what I did. I came up with a plan to get there while it was still dark in the early morning and hide before they arrived on the scene. I even waited a day before making my new play. That is when the real Dawn Chorus shoot took place.
There is a problem though with showing you now what happened on my next trip. I have already more than worn out my photo welcome for one diary. So, I will put together another one that is a sequel to this one. I like those photos more than I do these. If you would like to see it pay attention to the Daily Bucket Friday Sequence lineup. The two diaries show how I like to work at getting to know individual birds. It will be published this coming Friday, March 15. See you there. There you have it, Eagles Everywhere!
