Two Juvenile Bald Eagles with Fish

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Two Juvenile Bald Eagles with Fish

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sourced by Keta

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Two Juvenile Bald Eagles with Fish

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uploaded by Keta

Making an extra effort to get down to the early morning low tide at Spanish Banks in English Bay (Vancouver) has turned out to be very worthwhile. This video gives some very rare insight into the interactions of the various bald eagles living along the shoreline.

The first juvenile enjoys fishing in solitude on the just-emerging sandbar as the tide goes out. I manage to sneak up quite close while it is occupied with eating. At one point it simply hops to the shoreline, grabs a fish with it's claw and hops back up to the dry sand! Amazing.

Suddenly another juvenile swoops down as if to take the fish. They fly together in tandem in front of my camera, calling. The first juvenile flies part way back towards shore while the second starts eating the fish.

An adult bald eagle makes a brief appearance.

The second juvenile loses interest in the fish and flies back to shore. It's strange I find, considering the fish are plentiful, that they should try to poach each others' breakfast. Maybe it's just an effort at one-upmanship? Or a show of strength?