Thanks for the fish! Eagle vs Heron slideshow

 

Ahh! That’s the spot

Ahh! That’s the spot - a cow (or maybe a steer? or heifer?) scratches an itch on a SW Oregon ranch near Elkton on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Licking the barbed wire? No idea why.

 

Rodent control

A norther harrier hawk hunts rodents in a pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021. Northern harrier hawks have exceptional hearing and will ofter use auditory clues while hunting. 

 

Stuffing the bird

On a cool Thanksgiving morning, an American robin feeds on holly berries near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Nov. 25, 2021. Although holly berries can be toxic to humans, causing vomiting and diarrhea, they are an important fall and winter food source for many birds and even mammals. Wild turkey, quail, and songbirds will feed on the berries. 

 

Fine feathered enemies

A bald eagle swoops in to take a fish away from a great blue heron at Plat I Reservoir near Sutherlin in southwestern Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. 

Bald eagles get much of their food from scavenging and stealing from other birds. American historical figure Benjamin Franklin once said in a letter to his daughter, the “bald eagle...is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”

The eagle takes to the air after eating the fish.

 

With part of the fish in one talon the eagle struts over to get a drink of water.

Before the eagle swooped in the heron had the fish speared on its lower beak. 

Misty morning in Oregon

On a cool foggy morning, dew drops cling to a blade of grass growing under a large mushroom on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, Sept. 22, 2021.

A banded garden spider hands in her dew covered web.

 

Nature's juice box

A rufous hummingbird licks up juice from an apple in an orchard on a farm near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021.