Fighting Eagles of Chilkat

[NorthernFocus]

One of, if not the main reason for professional wildlife photographers visiting Chilkat this time of year is the opportunity to shoot the eagles fighting. The behavior is fascinating to watch while extremely frustrating to photograph. One often waits quite some time for action that only lasts for a few seconds. And there are no re-does.

Why the birds fight at all is an interesting question. There are PLENTY of fish for all the birds. But it is very common to see birds fighting over scraps with whole, living fish beached in the shallows just a few feet away. So the conflict between the birds seems to be driven by dominance behavior rather than by a struggle for resources. Also if one is observant, the birds seem to recognize one another or at least they are very skilled at reading one another's body language. Quite often birds will surrender a fish that they eating with no attempt to defend it. At other times they will fight viciously. Also many times a bird will dive towards a grounded bird only to flare off at the last second. I call those high speed fly-byes. Also very frustrating because it's nearly impossible to get both birds in the frame together much less both in focus.

At any rate, here are a few shots.

1) As deadly as this looks it's going to be, the grounded bird dodged at the last second, surrendering its claim.



2) Same situation as above. No harm done.
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3) This looks like a series shot but is three birds. They were amicably sharing a fish when all of a sudden a fight errupted. With much squawking and flapping one grabbed the remaining scraps and all three flew away.



4) Now this fight was no joke. Note the talons of one of the upper birds dug into the breast of another.



5) And another flyby shot. Whether it intended to do so from the beginning, the juvenile bird flew on by when the grounded bird went completely inverted to present its talons. This is the type of shot that we're hoping for. Though getting such a shot with both mature birds would be much preferred

[Mike Buckley]

[About photo #5:] This is the type of shot that we're hoping for.

I would certainly think so! An exceptional photo!

[Manfred M]

Shot #5 is definitely the shot that made the miserable weather you had there worthwhile. Stunning image!

[Rita]

Excellent work. #5 is fantastic.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Here's one more. Shot in pretty heavy fog and recovered in PP.

[Geoff F]

Some excellent real life photography.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice set Dan

[madcrow]

Every one better then the other. Awesome images, ones to be very proud of.

[IzzieK]

I am still wondering why we seldom see much of these birds in normal weather condition. When we went for our Eagle hunt earlier this year at the confluence, we were told that the coldest weather brings them out. At our trek, we saw just three of them and they were too far off. You are luckier there where you are as you got the weather to have time come out at this time of the year or every year...All good shots too!

[Wavelength]

Terrific stuff...much interesting......

[marlunn]

Brilliant images Dan, they show and tell a fascinating story, heirachy and dominance is the key theme as you say, it certainly is not food scarcity. How does it marry up with the bears fishing on the salmon glut in the rivers?

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you all enjoyed the photos. Thanks for commenting.

I am still wondering why we seldom see much of these birds in normal weather condition. When we went for our Eagle hunt earlier this year at the confluence, we were told that the coldest weather brings them out...

Izzie, I think it's a case of people making observations but not necessarily connecting the dots of cause and effect. For one thing, eagles migrate. These birds in Chilkat are on there way south for the winter. So naturally there are going to be more of them down there in the winter. Secondly, if where you went looking is at one of the dams down there that are famous for eagles gathering, during extreme cold when smaller streams etc. freeze over while the water around the dams stays open. Eagles are primarily fish eaters. So where there's fish the birds will come. This time in Chilkat was the warmest I've seen it on my trips and for the same reason the shooting was more difficult. When it's much colder many of the side sloughs freeze over and the birds concentrate more around the main channel of the river where the fast moving water stays ice free.

...heirachy and dominance is the key theme as you say, it certainly is not food scarcity. How does it marry up with the bears fishing on the salmon glut in the rivers?

Not sure in what context you mean, Mark. One similarity is that both situations bring together large numbers of animals that are not normally social. Another common thread is that there is clearly a hierarchy which the animals recognize. In the case of the eagles when their bellies are full they continue to hang around and interact with one another. You can observe them sitting on perches watching the actions of other birds, calling out to one another, and sometimes launching from a perch to "attack" other birds.

In the case of the bears they tend to have their favorite spots to fish. The more dominant bears get the spots they desire. As long as no other animal tries to take their spot they leave everyone alone. And when they've filled their bellies they go off to a private spot and take a nap while they digest the meal. Sometimes the juvenile bears will argue over fishing rights or try to steal one another's catch. But generally speaking there is a lot less conflict than among the birds. Then again there are a lot fewer animals so it may simply be statistics

[John 2]

Might need a little more mid tone contrast IMHO Dan but that's hardly the point with this. I rarely use the word awesome but it applies here and if I thought that the bird in your last set might have been on a mission, there is no doubt that this one has a clear purpose in mind. Downright good photography and enjoyable viewing.