The Eagle and the Raven

Sitting by the side of open water in a large wetland waiting – hopefully – for ducks to arrive, I glanced skyward. What I saw wasn’t a flight of waterfowl, but instead it was an adult bald eagle slowly soaring extremely high in the cloudy gray sky.

It made a couple of lazy circles as I watched and then, suddenly, a common raven approached the eagle from above and behind – the placement favored by pilots of fighter aircraft. Apparently birds had figured that out millions of years before aircraft were developed.

The eagle made one more slow loop before it drifted toward the southwest – with the raven in pursuit.

The raven made repeated passes at the eagle, although I couldn’t tell whether it ever ever made contact with the larger bird.

Twice, when the raven got too near, the eagle began to roll over to extend its talons towards its pursuer – 

 

When the eagle began to roll over a second time, the raven applied its brakes to avoid getting too close to the sharp talons –

But the raven overshot the eagle, putting the eagle in an advantageous position to the rear of the raven –

Ravens are more maneuverable than eagles and very intelligent. They seen to enjoy what can only be called playing in the wind, doing barrel rolls and loop the loops, carrying objects as they fly then dropping them and catching them as they fall – and harassing large predatory birds.

The birds continued in a southwesterly direction, gradually losing altitude – the raven still pestering the eagle –

Until they were lost against the wooded background.