A CONVOCATION OF EAGLES

I’d been driving around a new area, taking pictures of snow scenes.  I ended up near the farm country where I often take pictures of cranes, eagles, herons, deer, and other wildlife.  I couldn’t resist one last drive through this familiar area.

Almost immediately, I saw a convocation of eagles.  There were five immature eagles and one adult.  As might be expected, the juveniles were flying about, but the adult just sat there watching.  Where was the mate?  There had to be more than one generation present because eagles typically only lay two eggs.

 
The juveniles settled down and moved a bit, and I saw what the attraction was.  There was a small animal in their midst.  I was too far away to tell what kind of critter it was, but I’m guessing from the coloring, it was either a possum or raccoon.  I also didn’t know if it was carrion or prey they were chasing.

After a while, I saw that the prey was still alive as it moved beyond the line of eagles.  I wondered why one of the eagles didn’t pounce on the critter and claim it.

I was interested in a couple juveniles whose coats seemed especially bushy, particularly around the head.  I did some research on immature eagles but didn’t find anything to answer my questions.  I decided to move on to the corner, turn around, and head home.

As I headed up the road, I saw a second eagle, sitting in an empty cornfield.  I imagine this was the mate of the other adult eagle that’d been with the juveniles.

As I zoomed in, the eagle’s eye seemed trained on something, but I couldn’t see anything in its line of sight that would be merit such attention.

I wasn’t far from the corner, so I decided to move on.  As I did, the eagle turned in my direction, and I got one more shot in of this magnificent bird.  No wonder it’s our nation’s symbol.  I reached the corner, turned around, and headed back.  I passed the lone eagle and reached the hill where I’d seen the five juveniles and one adult with the prey.  The field was empty.  I guess they finished their hunting without me.