The Morning Hunter
This morning I spotted a bald eagle gliding across the marsh and I kept watching him as he started swooping low over the pond. Even though earlier I had seen a raft of mixed ducks out in the pond, I gave little thought to them as I assumed the eagle was looking for a fish. But when the eagle did a strafing run over the ducks I quickly identified his target…
Bald eagles will often hover and dive down toward ducks scattering them and causing them to submerge themselves under the water, providing what the ducks hope will be safety from attack. But…they can’t stay under very long and the eagle knows this quite well.
The eagle’s tactic here is to isolate an individual from the group and try to time a dive exactly right to hit the water just as the hapless bird surfaces. After a couple of failed attempts, the bald eagle splashed down and managed to pluck itself out a nice plump coot for breakfast. The intrepid hunter kept a tight grip on the coot as it flew back out toward the salt marsh with it’s prize!
Phil Lanoue Photography 
Um wow.
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Hey thanks!
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Really nice series. I have been watching the bald eagles on the Magnolia River and have suspected they are checking out the small ducks….amazing images.
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I was just happy to see the eagle working for a living for a change. Normally they have been stealing fish from ospreys rather then getting their own food.
Thanks so much for looking!
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Wow….that had to be a rush. Awesome set Phil!
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I was pretty exciting Ricky, but also cold out there this morning. My fingers did not want to work.
Thanks for checking these out!
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These are awesome photo’s!
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I really appreciate that, thank you!
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Fantastic sequence Phil, very well done.
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Thanks very much, I came close to not getting anything. My fingers were stiff from the cold and I couldn’t focus all that well. 🙂
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So rewarding when you eventually are able to download and discover it was all worth the effort.
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I had to go through the images twice, the first time I looked I was close to deleting the whole mess. But…I did manage to pull something out of it anyway.
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Che serie di scatti fantastici, Una sequenza eccezionale!!!
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Sono molto felice che ti piace queste foto Pat!
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Amazing photos, Phil, but they made me feel sad for the poor duck. 😦
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Thanks Deb, and yes I feel the same way. I bet that poor coot was alive the entire time it was being carried off and did not have a good morning at all. But so it goes in nature.
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So the eagle played “pluck a duck” and got himself an old coot. 🙂
Super series, Phil. I would have figured a fish to be the target too.
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Yeah my money would have been on fish especially since there were several ospreys out all morning fishing. So I thought the eagle would be likely to just steal one from an osprey, but guess it felt ambitions today. Or it really wanted a coot.
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OK, so there’s something about seeing a duck that makes me sad this eagle didn’t get a fish instead…But great shots!
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Yeah I know and it’s funny how we rarely feel all that bad for the fish. After the eagle left there were ospreys, herons, and egrets all catching fish but I never once went awwww…poor little fishy.
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We used to see hawks come snatch smaller birds out of a large walnut tree at a previous house. Really something. This sequence is gorgeous. I love top of the chain predators, especially in action. Fabulous. That’s nature. Probably a bit more filling, and fatty perhaps, than a fish.
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Yes I suspect it was after a higher calorie, higher fat meal. It got cold over night and is supposed to get really cold tomorrow, so perhaps our eagle friend was looking to pack on a few extra ounces.
Thanks very much for checking these out, I appreciate it.
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Amazing sequence of shots Phil 😀
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I appreciate your kind words, thanks very much!
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I guess I have under-rated them as hunters, especially of birds. Who knew Bald Eagles could snag a duck or coot for dinner? This is just an amazing sequence of photos, with sharp images every time!
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Thanks Sue, and yes the eagle can be a good hunter if motivated. Sometimes they take the lazy way out and just steal a meal that another bird already caught.
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Awesome sequence Phil! Even though we know that’s how nature works, you still feel bad for the duck.
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Yes I do indeed feel badly for the duck, one minute he is just floating around enjoying his morning when the next…
Well, not good news for our feathered friend at all.
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Phil, thanks for this absolutely outstanding series of photos. The eagle demonstrated its hunting skill this time, instead of just robbing from the osprey.
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Thanks very much Lee and yes indeed it is good seeing the eagle working for a living for a change.
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Oh poor duck 😦 Wonderfully captured Phil.
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Yeah I do really feel bad for the little guy, I know it’s nature but still makes me sad.
Happy though you liked these photos.
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Incredible but graphic photos! Wow! Pam
Sent from my iPhone
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Yes nature can indeed be a bit harsh at times. Thanks very much for looking and commenting!
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I’m saddened for the duck… Incredible action series! It’s better than watching the Nature on PBS.
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Yes nature can indeed be tough out there, one minute the coot is swimming around the next he is being flown off with those skyhooks stuck in his back. Thanks for checking out these photos Amy.
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I enjoy all of your photographs so much. The eagle with duck series is incredible!! We’ll be camping at Huntington Beach SP this coming week – can’t wait.
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Thanks much for the kind words about the photos and I’m sure you will enjoy HBSP.
Get here quick though if you want to see spoonbills, we still have two as of today. 😉 😀
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Perfect!! Amazing shots. I’m sure it was amazing in person. All so clear. I probably would have been so excited that I would have missed most of it. To most people here a coot is just a fish on top of water with feathers.
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I was plenty excited and also very cold. My fingers didn’t want to work and my camera didn’t feel like doing much either. I was happy I ended up with what I got considering all that.
Thanks for checking these out.
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Another fantastic sequence…. but at least the eagle caught its own meal this time instead of stealing it.
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I was quite pleased to see the eagle actually working for a living for a change.
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Phil, these are amazing!! Nice job!
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Thanks Sue, I really appreciate that!
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Awesome captures, Phil. I felt sick for that hapless coot. 😦
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Thank you Sylvia, and yes I felt bad for the coot too, but odd how I don’t ever really think about all the fish I see eaten in that same way. 😕 🙂
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Hmmm We’re a funny lot, aren’t we? ;D
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Wow, incredible action. I also did not know this tactic of eagles. Amazing photos.
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Yes I have seen this tactic before, the eagle really will pick out and isolate one unlucky individual.
Thanks for looking and commenting!
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Yikes, I had no idea Bald Eagles went after ducks and coots! Was the coot still alive? I can’t tell if it’s trying to flap with its wings or if the wings are just dangling. Amazing action shots.
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I think it likely was still alive, but I don’t think it was flapping it wings they were sort of just dangling there. That sadly, was one very unlucky coot.
Thanks for checking these out!
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Stunning action shots, the real hunter is definitely YOU Phil.
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Thanks very much Jan, and you should have seen me stalking around the edge of a woodland pond for the spoonbills today. I was in hunt mode for that. 🙂
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Brilliant, brilliant pictures, Phil! It makes a change to see an eagle actually hunting for itself, rather than stealing from an osprey! Nature in the raw!
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Thank you Maggie and yes it was nice to see the eagle actually working for a living for a change. There were several ospreys out too and I bet they were happy to be left alone for once.
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Now, there is a scene I have not spotted before…. Than you for showing us, Phil.
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Well I’m happy I could show you something new Paula and glad you enjoyed the eagle photos!
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Great action and clarity and a nice meal. You catch this action with such regularity ! I especially like the hover shot and survival of the fittest .Wow Phil !
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Thanks so much! The hover was cool because there was a stiff wind out there and all the eagle had to do was stick out his wings and the wind held him up. He barely had to flap at all. This guy knew what he was doing.
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Your photos are just captivating.
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Wow! That really show the power and size of an eagle. Amazing, really.
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The eagle is a good size bird and can scatter a group of waders simply by flying over head. A lot of power in that ability.
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I’m betting that nailing an incredible sequence like that will get you going back in the ‘cold’ weather.
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Yes you are correct, I will find myself out there again even when it gets very cold.
BTW it was a beautiful day today, T shirt weather, but the cold blast comes later tonight and into tomorrow. But… it’s supposed to go right back to the 60sF by Thur. and into the weekend.
And…I saw two spoonies today! That’s the god news, they did not leave yet. The bad news is I lost the pool predicting their departure as last night. 😦 Oh well, good news/bad news right?!. 🙂
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That is so cool. How did it make you feel as a photographer to see that? Was it upsetting, are you used to it?
I saw a pride of lions take down a Roan Antelope in Africa and it was thrilling to see, but sad at the same time.
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It is exciting to see but yes I do feel bad for the poor coot. I have seen alligators take a bird and always feel sad about that as well. Funny though, I have seen hundreds of fish and crabs get caught and eaten and for some odd reason I don’t really think of them in the same way as a bird or small animal.
Thanks for checking these out Jeff.
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You are an amazing photographer!
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Well thanks much Sally, I appreciate that. 🙂
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Fabulous images! We saw something similar last summer – an eagle attacking a gull. Only in our case, it plucked the gull out of the air rather than the water, then took it to a small islet to eat it and then flew off, holding it between its talons, when we got too close in our kayaks. I did a post about it on my blog, if you’re interested …though my images are nowhere near the quality of yours! Love those hovering eagle shots, they’re brilliant.
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Your spectacular photos provided an answer to a question that arose earlier this week about why an eagle was hanging around in an area that probably had no big fish, but did have a lot of ducks and geese. Most of us rejected the idea that an eagle would go after a duck–we were obviously wrong.
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