Eagles

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One of our neighbors and his friend were at our watershed lake duck hunting. It was so cold, they had to take turns chopping a hole in the ice for the ducks. They just sat in their blind with their jaws open while one of our eagles swooped down & snatched the very first duck they got.:ROFLMAO:
I shot a dove on the flush last year, picture-perfect as it pirouetted through air on down. As it landed, I was already headed that way. It barely had time to bounce and a giant red-tailed hawk swooped down and snatched it. I chased it for about 25 yards before I realized I'd never catch it. Wife was watching, she got a kick out of it.
 
May be an image of text that says 'The photo of the century. Nature defeats technology...'
 
AUGUST 30, 2019 BY [email protected]

How much weight can an eagle carry?

Experiments with captive eagles indicate that adults require about 3/4 pound (1/3 kg) of meat per day to maintain their weight; young, growing eagles require much more food.
Accounts of the weight that an eagle can carry in flight often have been misstated. Experiments indicate that, without wind to assist them, even large eagles cannot take off from flat ground with more than 5 or 6 pounds (2 to 3 kg) in their talons. Eagles flying into the wind and taking prey from hillsides, however, sometimes carry animals of twice those weights for considerable distances.
Resources: (online)



Lambing sheep on one of the local ranches, I could always tell when the first ewes had started lambing, even before I got to the
pasture they were in, I could see two or three Bald Eagles perched in the tops of trees. They knew before I did that lambing
season had begun. And yes they can pickup more than 4lbs.

They might not be able to land on the ground, march up to a lamb, pounce on it and fly off with the lamb, but if they swoop in, grab the lamb,
without landing they can fly off with a lamb. Have seen it done.
 
Just like ChrisB2 the eagles show up here at calving time but so far just eat afterbirth. I know a couple different people that claim to lose calves to bald eagles. I don't know.
 
This from a quick internet search...

"According to his information, a bald eagle should be able to carry 108% of its body weight."

"birds of prey cannot carry anything that weighs more than their own body weight."

" eagles generally can carry about a quarter of their weight, some 2 to 3 pounds. An eagle might catch something larger than this but wouldn't be able to carry it very far."

"Eagles are predators but they have a very small lifting capacity. Many times I have described our experiments and field observations on what eagles can lift. Generally a male can lift about 1.5 pounds and a female up to 2.5 to 3 pounds — the latter if there is a good headwind."

And then this...

Bald eagle/Mass
6.6 – 14 lbs

So apparently there is wide discrepancies in the results so-called experts get depending on what they call flight and distance, as well as wind direction and speed.
 
They will come in and kill a new, wet calf. Drove off a group of buzzards from one heifer just calved and then 2 young eagles went after another heifer that calved . I was there and had to take a shovel to drive them off . Unfortunately, they chip many of the eagles in this area so just did not dare to kill them... but would have killed them with the shovel if possible and then thrown them out on the interstate to get "hit" by a truck....

I ran 125-150 free range laying hens. THE EAGLE would come in and carry one off nearly every day. These hens weighed 6-7 lbs and a couple they dropped in the neighbors yard as they flew over... they would watch them and called me several times. I tried everything from altering the let out times, to sitting there for several hours to ward off the eagle from swooping down on the free ranging hens. Lost 122 hens that year and I quit raising and selling eggs from free range hens.
Sorry bas#@%ds.....
 
My thought too. I know a newborn has some pretty soft bones but sure looks like something besides birds been gnawing on the ribs..

View attachment 26025
I've watched raptors eat other birds and it's amazing how little is left. Feathers, beak, and feet... maybe. But eating birds is different from eating a mammal. The bones are different. Still, it's amazing how strong their beaks are and what they can crunch.
 
My thought too. I know a newborn has some pretty soft bones but sure looks like something besides birds been gnawing on the ribs..

View attachment 26025
Hadn't examined it that close , I think you're right . I think the calf may have been a day or two old . Its hooves looked like they had been walked on . Not white and soft like a new born . Going to have to go back on coyote control looks like .
 
Hadn't examined it that close , I think you're right . I think the calf may have been a day or two old . Its hooves looked like they had been walked on . Not white and soft like a new born . Going to have to go back on coyote control looks like .
Birds will pick the soft stuff off of feet.
 

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