Eagle Fight / Rescue

Cool video from last weekend on the upper Croix. Kudos to those who stepped in to help.

https://kstp.com/news/cellphone-video-captures-intense-rescue-of-2-bald-eagles-locked-together-on-st-croix-river/5416260/

Updated: July 08, 2019 10:23 PM

A half-dozen people, including the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, helped rescue two bald eagles that plunged into the St. Croix River after their talons locked together during a mid-air battle Sunday.

Ann and Andy Kirn told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they were boating and anchored in a bay along the St. Croix River when they saw the eagles locked in a mid-air battle and then suddenly fall into the river — still locked together.

“They were basically still yelling at each other and beating each other with their wings,” said Andy Kirn

“It was very emotional and very dramatic,” said Ann Kirn. “We were hoping everything would turn out alright, and in the end it did, but it was intense at times.”

The Kirns called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for help and one of their neighbors, Mike Zajac, who operates the Marine Landing restaurant along the St. Croix River.

“It was a very interesting day and not how I expected to end the day,” said Zajac. “After we got the birds separated, one flew to higher ground but the injured one needed help, and after awhile we able to net it and get it to the U of M Raptor Center.

University of Minnesota Raptor Center Assistant Director Lori Arent told KSTP a Raptor Center volunteer joined the rescue efforts for the injured eagle. On Monday, she said the bird was doing better but has a long way to go.

“The eagle did have a lot of puncture wounds and will need some time to get better,” said Arent. “If no one had come along, it is likely one of the two birds would not have survived.”

Arent said the injured eagle was banded by a Twin Cities biologist and it is a 5-year-old female, which means it probably ventured into the hunting territory of an older, female eagle.

“The males usually fight the males and females will fight with other females,” said Arent. “This is the time of year when they will fiercely protect their hunting territory because it is survival for them and any young eaglets they might have nesting right now.”

If you find an injured raptor, especially after summer storms, you’re encouraged to contact the U of M Raptor Center, which is open seven days a week, for assistance.

-J.

While it’s a cool story and would be amazing to see in person, but why not let nature take its course? I agree with helping wildlife that has been impacted by humans, however this sounds like nature being nature. Would you step between two bears battling for territory?

munchy wrote:

While it’s a cool story and would be amazing to see in person, but why not let nature take its course? I agree with helping wildlife that has been impacted by humans, however this sounds like nature being nature. Would you step between two bears battling for territory?

agreed. seems foolish to pull police officers away from their duty.

“it was very emotional and dramatic” Really?

Merica vs America, wonder who won?

munchy wrote:

While it’s a cool story and would be amazing to see in person, but why not let nature take its course? I agree with helping wildlife that has been impacted by humans, however this sounds like nature being nature. Would you step between two bears battling for territory?

If you saw two humans fighting for the death, would you intervene? People have saved countless deer from certain death when their antlers become intertwined. I’d agree if this was a battle for food but it clearly was not.

Great story and glad they could save them.

It’d be pretty hard to let two Bald Eagles – our nation’s bird – drown, I think. I get the ‘nature takes it’s course’, and I’ve done that myself for common prey (squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, very common birds), but I think apex predators are different, and important – although I wouldn’t intervene in every circumstance, especially if it was dangerous.

I do think we, as humans, have strongly intervened with eagles by using DDT and lead shot, so I guess we’re ok poisoning them…but not saving them? Food for thought. https://www.centredaily.com/sports/article176405086.html

Very few are positioned from lead shot, more so now that we are using steel for bird hunting.

The eagles along the Mississippi River are thicker then blackbirds. So much so, just the other day I was wondering what we did to the blackbird to have so few.

An eagle dying from nature is nothing to get excited about. Not anymore then seeing a dead squirrel or rabbit along the side of the road. IMHO as an eagle guide.

PS this story was brought back to life from the summer of 2019.

I live right by the MN river and the eagles are plenty as well. You dont have to go very far away though and people get excited when they see one.

I’ve seen many situations like this in Voyager’s National Park.
They’re was no need to step in. They would have been fine. I’ve seen one swim a 1/4 mile with its wings while holding a still alive and fighting seagull. Once the eagle made it shore it proceeded to dismantle and devour the seagull.

Watched a couple eagles beat down another eagle above pool 3 backwaters this spring.The lone eagle made a big splash when it hit the water then swam with its wings about a hundred yards to shore.It crawled onto dry land and walked off into the woods.Nothing I was going to get myself involved in.

I was told that eagles couldn’t fly once in the water.

I was on the river to pick up a eagle photographer, when I came across an adult in the water…struggling. I got my camera ready and moved it closer. Got a little too close and off it went, wet feathers and all.

Just after that one left, another that was watching from a tree came down and snatch the fish the first one was trying to bring to shore. I didn’t know it was there until he flew away with it!

The feathers don’t look too wet in the photo but the trail below him is water dripping off the feathers.

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Brian Klawitter wrote:

Very few are positioned from lead shot, more so now that we are using steel for bird hunting.

The eagles along the Mississippi River are thicker then blackbirds. So much so, just the other day I was wondering what we did to the blackbird to have so few.

An eagle dying from nature is nothing to get excited about. Not anymore then seeing a dead squirrel or rabbit along the side of the road. IMHO as an eagle guide.

PS this story was brought back to life from the summer of 2019.

I spotted a dead eagle along a railroad embankment this past spring,obviously lost an encounter with a train.More and more are getting hit by vehicles in many places.

I saw a bald eagle swoop down on a fish and snatch it. It was to big so the eagle had to drop it. Came back around, landed in the water and swam it to shore to eat it.

I find it very interesting that I cannot collect the eagle feathers in my yard from eagles perching there. I can only mow over them instead of putting them on display in my cabin honoring them…

suzuki wrote:

I find it very interesting that I cannot collect the eagle feathers in my yard from eagles perching there. I can only mow over them instead of putting them on display in my cabin honoring them…

If you have Sand Cranes eating your crops in WI the DNR will give you a permit to shoot them but you can’t eat them. Makes no sense.

buck-slayer wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
I find it very interesting that I cannot collect the eagle feathers in my yard from eagles perching there. I can only mow over them instead of putting them on display in my cabin honoring them…

If you have Sand Cranes eating your crops in WI the DNR will give you a permit to shoot them but you can’t eat them. Makes no sense.

I hate to do it, changing the subject, but since you mentioned it what is the deal with the “flying ribeye” reference I keep hearing about cranes? Anybody here eat them? Tell me about it. BTW that’s obviously a law nobody with a permit would follow unless they didnt want to eat one.

If your a native American…

Eagle Repository

Ribeye in the sky, as they say. I’m curious too, Suzuki.

This is a pretty great thread- lots of diff observations/stories/perspectives of eagles.

I agree that involving law enforcement was dumb and overkill, at least for an informed person. There are enough Bald Eagles to not feel too bad about letting nature take its course, IMHO.

I have personally never had sandhill crane, but everyone I know who has say they taste just like a ribeye steak. They tell me that if you didnt know what it was that is exactly what you would think it was. There are lots of tall tales out there and this may be a snipe hunt, but I tend to believe them.
Steven Rinella of meateater did a show and he was very impressed with them, but there isnt much he wouldnt eat either. He ate a dang Coyote for crying out loud.