Table manners of bald eagles on the Nooksack River

Most of my island friends don't know my career with TNC started as the Bald Eagle Survey Coordinator for the Skagit and Sauk Rivers. Once a week we canoed the Sauk River from Darrington to Rockport, did a survey along the road on the Skagit from Marblemount to Rockport and dispersed up to 25 volunteers to record night roost activity on both rivers. Simultaneously the NPS surveyed the Skagit above Marblemount while the USFS surveyed it from Rockport to Sedro Woolley. This is how I spent my winters from 1998 to the winter of 2004-2005. Somewhat amazingly I don't have any photos in my collection of eagles from that time.

Last week friends Traci Walters and Chris Teren were photographing eagles on the Nooksack River and discovered a leucistic eagle. I decided it was a worth a trip up river to see if i could find and photograph it too.

It was a cold, sometimes drippy day. When I arrived there were already three other photographers present. I immediately spotted the leucistic eagle; it was several hundred yards up river so not readily photographable. The following show three eagle plumages: adult, juvenile and leucistic.

When I did a quick count scan with my binoculars I noted that there were over 80 eagles in this one location. It was late in the morning so most of the feeding activity was done for the day. But there was one chum carcass that became the center of the eagle activity for the next 15 minutes

One adult eagle, with great effort, pulled the carcass on a log.

But just when you think you're alone, here comes company.

Eagle number one maintained control but then along came eagle number three.

Eagle #1 made it clear to the other two this was its fish. But alas, along came eagle #4 bumping #1 off the carcass.

Eagle #4 got the fish but then along came eagle #5.

And when #6 arrived parts started falling in the water and #4 left with a piece.

Note throughout how eagle #3 on the far right is craning its neck to follow the action.

As the remains got smaller and smaller, the action really picked up; it was clear if an eagle wanted to eat, it needed to act now.

Pieces fell in the water and that divided the action.

A juvenile arrived and took its place at the end of the line.

More pieces were carried off.

The juvenile even reached in and grabbed the skin.

 About now the leucistic eagle decided it wanted in on the action.

The other eagles didn't argue with it at all. But there wasn't much left. The following sequence shows three different plumages, adult, juvenile and leucistic.

As the eagles dispersed I was jockeying for position with the other photographers and hoping for one last 'make my day' photograph. Alas, too much going on and I wanted to cry when I looked at the blurry image of the eagle flying closer to me than it had been all day. 

This best image of the day of the leucistic eagle.