I drove to Camano Island, about an hour south of Bellingham, to a nature preserve called English Boom. En route, a Red-tailed Hawk flew 20 feet over my car as I drove down the I-5 corridor, just south of Bellingham, right after I got on the freeway. I thought that was going to be the highlight of my day. Boy was I mistaken.
This was the second outing planned for a group of kindergartners at Summit Academy to teach and learn about Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles. Two weeks prior, we had talked about habitat and requirements for animals to live and thrive in a place. This second day was to focus on the two birds and to see how they might interact with each other or not.
I was toying in the trunk of my car pondering what on earth I was going to facilitate for these young children. I heard some Bald Eagles calling and they flew towards the water; I didn't think much of it. About a minute later, while I was still organizing my car, I heard the Bald Eagles call again, chirping and flying close, and I turned and looked.
The two adults (both with white heads) were flying no higher than 50 feet above the ground and they got within about 25 feet of my car and where I was standing. Suddenly, the bottom eagle flipped upside down and the top eagle grasped talons with the bottom one...
And this is what it looked like:
credit: http://wildmintproductions.com/2012/05/the-dalliance-of-the-eagles/
The eagles spiraled down for about four seconds... it was a majestic dance, they courted in a perfect spiral as they fell to 40, 30, 20 feet above the ground. With enough time before hitting the field, they released and caught air to double back around for another pass over.
The top eagle this time, obviously the male (because of the following behavior) had been carrying a fish in its other talon! I discovered this because it dropped the fish mid air. The female, who was flying underneath, gathered momentum in a brief second and swooped under the male to catch the fish mid air!
This is called a "prey transfer" and I knew it was a common courting behavior between Peregrine Falcons, as Bud Anderson (Falcon Research Group) once taught me. But I saw it for myself... in Bald Eagle courtship!
The birds flew north together, following the road and banked around a stand of tall Douglas Fir trees. As they rounded the grove and out of sight, the first carload of small people approached and our two-hour field excursion was about to begin. Not knowing how to respond, I simply dropped to a knee and thanked the earth for providing me with such an opportunity.
I now share this story with whoever reads it. The natural world is full of incredible events and miracles but these are also ordinary events in the lives of the creatures that demonstrate these behaviors. What makes them astounding is our ability to slow down and make the time for observation.
The prey transfer is a final step in solidifying the relationship for the breeding pair and I suppose the next step for these two birds is to start a nest. It is that time of year, after all! And during the rest of our time at English Boom, we heard those raptor chirping and carrying on, in their "new-love" kind of way that we humans know all so well.
To date, this is one of the single most incredible events I have witnessed. I am so thankful for those two Bald Eagles and for all Bald Eagles... they led me to the Pacific Northwest and still guide my life. When I am lost or confused, these raptors remind me of my place (on the ground) on this earth.
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