Regal Eagle at the Deli

62 Replies

Sometimes when I drive by this tree at the side of the estuary, it is loaded with bald eagles, decorating it like so many Christmas tree ornaments.

Today there was only one eagle — an immature one at that. The rest were busy foraging below the tree  and up the river mouth at the Regal Eagle Deli. The last putrefied chum salmon lie like wet paper towels on the banks, exposed by the dropping tide.

Perhaps this one had eaten his fill and couldn’t stomach one more mouthful of rotten fish.

“Oh rats!” he says. “Another bird watcher.”

“I’ll give her my Exorcist pose – body facing one way, head looking the other. That’ll confuse her so she won’t know which is front or back.”



“Now, where was I? Oh yeah … urp … trying to digest that disgusting fermenting fish.”

Regal eagle looks for food, 

Fish again? Not in the mood.

Chilly air, he shivers high

In the tree so he can spy

Rotten fish washed up below.

Better eat in case of snow.

Leaner times around the bend,

Need to eat or life could end.

Though he’d like fish still alive

Choosy eagles don’t survive.

62 thoughts on “Regal Eagle at the Deli”

    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      And for me it would be something very different to see those! That’s the beauty of exchanging blog posts. We get to see (at least in photos) what we would not normally see in our own areas.
      Have a great week, Hans.

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      1. Ursula

        No, they are ganging up in a big flock and make awful noises while running back and forth. The eagles never bothered to dive down into this big flock of guineas. The chickens are much slower and dumb (but when the guineas were screeching they went to hide right away).

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  4. Anonymous

    When my little Ivy returns from the doggie spa she looks like a main course for the local eagles. I keep a sharp eye on her while we walk the neighborhood. Love your poem Anneli and I can certainly understand the eagles wishing for a little variety in their daily caloric intake.

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  5. Darlene Jones

    We had a eagle nesting in one of the trees in our yard in Comox. The only reason we knew it was there was because we saw the mother coming and going. We never did see the actual nest – she had it so well hidden.

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    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      We usually have eagles nesting nearby and in a way it’s nice to see them but the downside is I have to watch out for the dogs (Emma anyway, where she’s smallish) and the other thing is the constant shrieking once the young are hatched. It goes on from morning to night.

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    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      It’s a bald eagle. I think it takes about four years for them to get the white head and white tail feathers, and the beak goes bright yellow then too.
      I see that your white-tailed sea eagle (similar) is common in Scotland and Ireland (over in that general area anyway). The bald eagle is our west coast of Canada bird. You can see a better picture of it here on this Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle

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  10. Lori

    Very cool zoomed in photos. To see an eagle would be a rare treat for me. I haven’t even seen any at my dad’s ranch in Wisconsin. One time I saw a pair of them at the lake in our subdivision when we lived in Florida. I was able to get photos of them, and I still marvel that I actually got to see eagles in person in the wild. I can’t imagine it being an every day occurrence with them filling up the branches of a tree.

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      1. Lori

        My dad sees a lot of wildlife in Wisconsin. I’m sure he has eagles there, but I’ve not seen one. I’ve seen lots of deer and turkeys on his property. He takes photos of the foxes (is that right for plural?) and sends them to me. I’ve seen enough of hot beaches. I’d love to see your majestic part of the world.

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    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      I think what happened is that he is stuffed and can’t hold anymore. As for the last part of your comment, it made me think of Fleetwood Mac. “Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies….” 😉

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    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      I posted the picture of the tree from farther away so you could see the distance. I used the zoom on my camera and tried to hold as still as possible to close in on the eagle. That’s the hard part because with the zoom, every little shake makes a big blur. I took several shots and chose the least blurry ones. I’m glad you liked it.

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  19. reocochran

    I liked this bird’s eye view of an immature eagle. I loved the poem, too.
    The ending made me sad, thinking these proud birds have to settle for rotting fish if they want to make it through the winter’s cold months.

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