Bald Eagle Skirmish

 Imagine seeing a pair of adult eagles battling in midair, talons locked together as they plunge earthward and strike a runway at the Duluth International Airport in Minnesota.  An employee at Monaco Air, a servicing center at the airport, saw the birds fall. They were still entangled when he ran over to them, so he  called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Randy Hanzal, a conservation officer with the DNR who took the photo above,  collected the adult birds and tried to transport them to Wildwoods, a wildlife rehab organization in Duluth. He didn’t have a cage large enough to accommodate the birds, so he put them in the back of his pickup and covered them with blankets and jackets. He secured them with webbing straps and slowly drove toward the rehab enter, which was just a couple of miles away.  

Halfway there, Hanzal heard an uproar in the back of the truck. He glanced around, saw feathers flying, then one of the eagles jumped out, onto the tailgate of his truck, and flew off. Hanzal got the remaining eagle secured again and finally made it to the rehab center. A spokeswoman for the center said that a few days later, after the eagle was treated for its injuries, it was transferred to the Raptor Center at the University on Minnesota.

According to Frank Nicoletti, director of banding at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, midair battles between eagles aren’t uncommon. But it’s rare for them to hit the ground.

So is there a synchronicity in this eagle skirmish?

In 1782, the American bald eagle was adopted as the official bird emblem of the U.S. It was chosen not only because it’s native to North America, but for its beauty, strength, and long life. In the wild, an eagle will live 30-35 years  and in captivity, will live up to 50 years. A full-grown bald eagle has a wingspan up to 7 feet. They fly up to 30 miles an hour and can dive at 100 miles an hour.

Eagles mate for life, and will use the same nest for many years. Over a period of time, some nests become enormous. They can  reach a diameter of nine feet and weigh as much as two tons! The female lays two or three eggs and both parents share incubation and guard them against predators.

When I initially saw the photo of the entangled eagles, my first thought was, Oh, that’s the U.S. Congress.

 The 113^th Congress is like the pair of eagles. A fundamental disagreement in tenets has led to a paralyzed group of individuals who can’t get anything done. They posture,  make speeches, attack and revile each other, and in the end, they hit the ground, still fighting. In fact, two days after the eagle skirmish, on May 16, the Congress voted for the 36^th time to repeal Obamacare. Never mind that the Supreme Court declared it constitutional last year. Here’s what went on in Congress in just one week.  It’s stunning – and rather depressing.