I’ve been taking short walks lately instead of my usual long hikes. I’m still recovering from my hiking injury and suffered a setback. So I’ve “grounded” myself – no hiking for a month, but short walks on flat ground are OK.
It’s not much of a sacrifice. I gaze longingly at my daypack as I head out the door for my walks. But I am fortunate to live in an area of natural beauty. And we often find amazing nature outside our doorstep, if we have the presence of mind to look for it.
Many of my walks are along San Francisco Bay. Although 90% of the coastline is developed, there are a few nature preserves scattered along the water. These oases are homes to waterfowl of all kind. And you can also find fox, raccoon, skunk, songbirds and raptors.
My New Neighbor
On one of my walks I traverse a strip of land between the bay and a freshwater lake. The lake is man-made. But it provides habitat for Ruddy ducks, Surf scoters, and Common goldeneye. Shorebirds ply the muddy banks looking for prey.
And there are flocks of American coots (Fulica americana). I have written about Coots before. They have an amazing secret sex life and equally amazing feet. Large flocks of the birds graze on swarths of grass and dive under the nearby lake to harvest aquatic plants.
A dark shape catches my attention at the edge of the underbrush. My curiosity spurs me to investigate. To my amazement, I find a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) dining on the body of a Coot.
It’s an amazing sight. Knowing that wild animals are creatures of habit, I vow to return another day at the same time to see it again. This eagle likes to eat breakfast the same time I do!
American Coot
Airshow
A few days later I return to the same spot. The flock of Coots grazes on the grass bordering the freshwater lake. Suddenly, the birds take to the air. From their manner, I can see they are fleeing for their lives.
In the corner of my eye I see a brown flash. Just as my eye resolves the eagle, it appears to land on one of the fleeing birds. It was gentler than I expected.
I recover from my surprise to see that it is standing on the Coot, and that the Coot is still alive! The Coot raises its head and the Eagle grabs it by scruff of its neck. But it was not pecking at the Coot. The eagle releases the neck immediately. And it waits. The Coot’s head gradually sinks to the ground. I suspect the Eagle is strangling it by standing on its body, its talons squeezing the last breath from the bird.
Once the Coot’s head is on ground, the eagle grabs its neck and raises its head into the air. It immediately lets the Coot’s head fall back to the turf. Now I realize what it is doing. It’s checking to see if the Coot is still alive! After three of these, the eagle is assured the Coot is dead. It releases its grip and steps off the bird.
I curse myself for not bringing my camera. But I fish my cellphone out of my pocket and shoot some video. The video is not good quality because I have it zoomed as far as I can. I don’t want to approach too closely and scare the eagle off its kill.
Eagle Videos
I use my cellphone to shoot three short videos of the Eagle.
It begins to pluck the breast feathers near the shoulder. It’s easy to recognize the eagle. It has the characteristic “baggy trousers” created by feathers on its legs. These feathers make them easier to distinguish from hawks and other raptors.
The Golden Eagle begins to eat. In the process it decapitates the coot (not shown on video). Here is a video of the bird eating.
I slide around behind it, keeping far enough away that I don’t disturb the bird. I stand slightly closer and get better video.
Nature is at Your Door
You can look outside your doorstep to find amazing dramas playing out among wild creatures around you. Have you seen anything amazing in your backyard? Tell me about it in the comments below.
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There’s been 3 bird parties in our front yard. (Bird parties means hundreds of birds in our yard.) ~Eli, age 9
Eli, there was a big “bird party” in my yard yesterday. I looked closely and saw that there were many different types of birds in the flock. Were all the birds in your parties the same kind? Can you figure out the different types of birds at the parties?
I am not sure. I think there was different types of birds but my sister doesn’t. So I don’t know. I didn’t look carefully at the individual birds, I was looking at all of them at once. They were perching in our trees and then flying down to our backyard and then repeating.