Occasionally I rerun a favorite older post. This one was published nearly nine years ago and I have mixed feelings about it. Without question it was one of the most memorable wildlife experiences I’ve ever had, but back then my photographer’s instincts weren’t what they are today. So I missed some opportunities for some pretty spectacular photos and that pains me. I’d give a lot to have a do-over.
For this version I’ve changed the title, edited the text and tweaked the formatting.
Yesterday morning there was some highly unexpected excitement on Antelope Island.
As per my usual track record with Golden Eagles, the resulting images of the incident range from mediocre to poor due to crappy light angles, being too far away, poor timing and the use of a short lens while my 500mm is in the shop. But I did document much of what happened and more importantly, I witnessed it. What fun!
It all began when I unexpectedly encountered this Golden Eagle near a parking lot on the north end of the island. The eagle remained in place long enough for me to maneuver my pickup to get a few shots before it took off and dropped over the ledge behind it. I’ve seen two Golden Eagles on the island several times recently and I wondered if the other one was nearby.
It was.
Both birds landed on some rocks on Ladyfinger Point in good light but much too far away for my “pea-shooter” lens, the 100-400mm zoom, although I was able to document two corvid species harassing the eagles. A couple of Common Ravens let their displeasure about the presence of the eagles be known by…
repeatedly dive-bombing them.
But the Black-billed Magpies weren’t too happy about the situation either. At one point about a half-dozen magpies were harassing the eagles. Occasionally a few of them got close enough that at this distance it almost looked like one of the eagles could simply reach out and pluck a magpie off of its rocky perch.
Another photographer got out of his vehicle and approached the eagles so eventually they took off but the light angle and distance weren’t helpful for quality flight shots. I left the area, hoping to encounter the eagles somewhere else on the island later in the morning.
A while later, as I crested a hill and drove around a bend on a different part of the island, there was a flurry of activity up ahead. An eagle with a jackrabbit in its talons had just taken off from the ground with a group of several coyotes in hot pursuit. Jackrabbits are heavy prey and it’s difficult for a Golden Eagle carrying a jackrabbit to gain elevation quickly during take-off (something I’ve witnessed many times growing up on the Montana farm).
By the time I got fairly close (which required some highly creative driving) one of the coyotes had the rabbit and was skedaddling through the mullein with it. Though I didn’t see it actually happen (I miss a lot of things as I drive and maneuver), I believe that the pursuing coyotes got close enough to the eagle as it attempted to gain elevation that the bird deliberately dropped the rabbit in self-defense.
The eagle you see in the background in this image is not the one that had been carrying the rabbit. It’s the second eagle, who defiantly stood its ground as the coyote ran by just a few feet away. The coyote isn’t very sharp because my autofocus locked on to the moth mullein in the foreground.
The coyote crossed the road right in front of me in poor light and running as fast as it could with the heavy, awkward rabbit flopping around in its jaws. Other coyotes weren’t far behind, but a few remained and continued to harass the eagles.
I believe there was a total of 7-9 coyotes involved in this incident, more than I’d ever seen together, before or since.
When the second eagle took off and then landed nearby, the eagle that had apparently killed the rabbit was already perched out of frame to the right.
When the coyotes saw where the eagles had landed on the sagebrush, two of them took off after them.
So the eagles took off as the coyotes got close to them. The coyotes at left may be difficult to see – their cryptic coloration is working well. As usual, several nosy and noisy magpies joined in the fun. I should mention that soon after this shot was taken, a third Golden Eagle was spotted nearby.
I feel highly privileged when I’m lucky enough to witness events like this, even when I’m unable to get quality photos of what goes down. At first I was really bummed to not have had my 500mm lens to document all the excitement but as I reviewed my photos I realized that with the longer prime (non-zoom) lens I’d have missed some of the wider views of the interactions between several species and individuals.
Overall, I was probably better off with my ‘baby lens’.
Ron
PS – Sorry about the lack of image techs below each photo. With these longer posts I often simply run out of time. All photos were taken at f/8 with the Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and 1.4 teleconverter.
Really interesting. Beside enjoying the photos themselves, I appreciate your explanations. Animal behavior is fascinating.
A terrific series documenting an interesting incident – well done.
The shorter lens certainly was appropriate in this case.
Thanks, Gary. I think so too.
What an amazing documentary series. All of it. The coyote hot footing it across the road looks to have only one foot on the ground – more evidence of the speed it no doubt needed.
“Hot footing it” indeed. You should have seen that freshly killed rabbit flopping around at that speed!
Fabulous story Ron. Feel sorry for the Golden Eagles – they seem to be the harassment target for several birds and the coyotes! Surprising for such large powerful birds!
Watched two coyotes playing about 1/2 acre from our mountain house yesterday. They both looked very healthy! Lot’s of small animal prey around here 🙂
Thanks, Kathleen. Big powerful birds are natural targets for the smaller, quicker birds that harass them.
Great experience! Thanks for posting the older photos and story. I too would have been too busy just watching and not taken photos or if I did not good well planned ones.
Thanks, April. I think both of us would have done a better job today than back then.
Wow! What a morning that must have been! Baby lens or not, it’s incredibly exciting! I feel so bad for those Goldens — first the harassment and then the thievery. I would have loved to have been in the truck with you that morning (THREE Golden Eagles!!!), although I think I would have been so transfixed by the action I would have forgotten to take any shots.
“I would have been so transfixed by the action I would have forgotten to take any shots”
No chance of that happening with me, Marty. In situations like this I’m hard-wired to my shutter button.
However, I was so involved in what I was doing I didn’t even count how many coyotes there were. Too many things going on.
Such an interesting post! The last photo is perfect for showing the scale of the scene. The eagles are huge – as big as the coyotes! And since magpies are familiar to me, they provide the scale key, like on the road map – 1/2 inch = 2 feet. The colors are wonderful.
Carolyn, the more I look at that last photo the more I like it.
Great rarely seen interaction from the “good old days”. I imagine the odds of seeing something similar today are even longer.
John, those days on the island are long gone. Too many people and far too much development. And no, I’m not happy about it.
Thanks for the interesting story and photos. Coyotes are the most ingenious of species and now have adapted to cities too!
I’m glad you enjoyed both. Thanks, Karl.
WOW! That WAS and experience!
Joe & his brother once watched a Bald Eagle catch a fish, got to the top of a power pole to “brag”(talking) about it. Magpies arrived and there, at the base of the pole, sat a coyote waiting for it to drop! Eagle finally left with his catch – where to Joe doesn’t know. Nature is always amazing
Judy, that’s quite a story about the coyote but I’m not surprised. Wily and smart, those guys…
Enjoyed the rewind. Interesting photos and story. Boy, what a ripoff! That GE in the 5th photo looks pissed.
Jacks are big, and just a tad too much to fly off with for the GE. Once saw a GE out in the open trying to fly up the side of a hill with a Jack in it’s talons. There was a stiff wind coming at ‘him’ and so was able to use it to gain about 20 feet on each try. Did that three times and then it just sat there panting. Looked like a lot of work. Did not see that there was anything competition around. Maybe he was just trying to find a better place to dine.
Michael, in my experience (especially in MT) adult Goldens can eventually become fully airborne with a big jackrabbit in their talons but they sure can’t gain elevation quickly. It’s a slow, gradual grind and they often don’t fly far.
And yes, I think that eagle WAS pissed.
To me, those coyotes all looked quite well fed and furred……was it just that kind of year, or do you think they’d developed a successful pack-hunting technique
that often paid off better than lone pursuit ? I once observed 2 coyotes
working a sophisticated tag-team maneuver at real distance from each other
( a small off-leash dog was the object ) and was amazed at their technique– it only failed because the dog’s owner intervened in the nick of time ).
Kris, I don’t know the answer to your question but I’ve often wondered why so many of them were together. Quite unusual in my experience.
Wow. Nature in the rough. Thanks for re-running this great series!
Thanks, Cathy.
What an awesome ecperience it must have been watching all this. Seeing it in photos is fantastic. The presence of “spectator’ birds enhances it! I think being an observer to these events between species is always a privilege for we humans.
Thank you, Catherine.
Wow what an exciting morning. Excellent photos considering the conditions and challenges you faced trying to record all this. Great job. I have seen the Ravens so often harass both our eagles and various raptors. They are fearless and sometimes relentless. The Golden Eagles are masters of the sky, but on the ground they are no match for Wily Coyote. Met a woman here once who had seen a Red-tail rocket down to grab a rattlesnake and missed, and then of course the snake becomes the predator. She said it was not fun to watch. Always really enjoy these action posts that are both interesting and often educational.
Thanks, Everett. I actually wonder if a single adult coyote would deliberately take on a Golden Eagle on the ground. If it did, and it might, I suspect the coyote would pay a big price.
A “Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom” moment! It is great you could experience this and get photos of it, Ron. The ravens, Golden Eagles, and coyotes all interacting together.
With Marlin Perkins. Ahh, the memories. Thanks, Ed.
“ I feel highly privileged when I’m lucky enough to witness events like this, even when I’m unable to get quality photos of what goes down.”
Absolutely agree with that. Though infrequent (at least for me) that is one of the best things about being out in nature-witnessing such events. Thanks for re-sharing!
Duane, this kind of experience is infrequent for me also. Far too infrequent. But that’s part of the reason they’re so memorable when they occur. Thanks.