For the most part, my bird photography seems “static” because birds are easer to photograph when they’re undisturbed, sitting in one spot. So, I’m always excited when I can catch them in action, like I did this shot on my second day at Seabeck before the real action had begun. This crow obviously thought this bald eagle was infringing on his territory and would have none of it.
Here, they seem to be giving each other a piece of their mind, though the squabble didn’t end until the eagle decided it was time to do some harassing of his own.
Although some eagles seem quite adept at catching their own fish, their favorite strategy seems to be to scare a Great Blue Heron into dropping its catch so the eagle can take it. Some herons do just drop their catch and fly off, but others, like this one
stand their ground, seemingly more than ready to defend their territory.
At times the herons almost seemed to be trying to intimidate the eagles, particularly when they were in groups.
Though I doubt the eagles were intimidated, I noticed that they did tend to harass single herons more than groups of herons.
Even the gulls tried to steal fish from the herons,
but it was clear that this heron was not going have its fish stolen by a mere gull, and the gull was more intimidated than the eagles ever were.
It’s easy to forget just how competitive the natural order really is, but a day like this makes it clear that natural competition is fierce even when, or especially when , a food source is plentiful.
