The Morning Catch
by Elizabeth Winter
Title
The Morning Catch
Artist
Elizabeth Winter
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
he adult bald eagle is a striking dark brownish black bird with a white head and tail. Juvenile birds are a mottled brown with white blotches. They do not obtain the full distinctive plumage of the adults until they are four or five years old. Bills, legs, and feet are a deep yellow.
Bald eagles have lived up to 48 years in zoos, although their life span in the wild is likely far shorter.
Bald eagles are predators. They have several adaptations that fit them for that role. They have excellent eyesight and the frontal setting of their eyes gives them excellent binocular vision as well as peripheral vision.
The eagle has a strong, hooked beak with which it tears food, but it uses its powerful, taloned feet to capture prey. Bald eagles prefer fish, which they often capture by swooping down and snatching them from the water's surface. Another successful technique is to wade in the shallow water catching fish with the bill. They also take birds, especially waterfowl, and occasional mammals.
In addition to eating other animals such as ducks, muskrats, and sometimes turtles, they eat carrion willingly, and are notorious for robbing osprey of their catches. Eagles will wait on a favorite perch for an osprey to return to its nest with a fish in its talons for its own young, then harasses the smaller raptor until it is forced to drop its prey for the eagle to retrieve.
Uploaded
March 7th, 2015
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Viewed 261 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 03/26/2024 at 4:58 PM
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Comments (22)
Donna Kennedy
Marvelous capture Elizabeth, looks like one Eagle is bringing home the bacon, (I mean fish) :))...f/l
Aaron Whittemore
Wonderful photography, Elizabeth. The beautiful blue tones contrast so nicely with these magnificent birds. V/F
Deb Halloran
Elizabeth, What a beautiful capture with wonderful colors and detail...nicely composed. v/f
Heather King
wow WOW wow Elizabeth!!!! this is incredible!!!! I've always wished to see a bald eagle, but 3??? what a glorious sight to behold! beautiful capture too FV
Sandi OReilly
Fantastic capture, Elizabeth, caught the one with the fish while the others look on, great shot! F/L