Date: 1/26/25 9:31 pm From: Don Simonson via groups.io <don.r.simonson...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Bald Eagle duck hunting Richmond - County bird for me
At noon Saturday my wife and I saw a Bald Eagle perched on a snag in SF Bay off S. 51st Street, Richmond. My first county Bald Eagle at last! After four years searching. Naturally I had no binoculars. Nearby encountered Tara McIntire and another birder (Lee?), who confirmed the ID and its adult status with white head and tail; and pointed out over three dozen roosting Black Skimmers. About 12:15 I noticed the eagle in direct swift very low level flight parallel to the shore starting to overtake a distant raft of several hundred ducks .The ducks finally flushed, too late! as the eagle cut hard left and left again into the center of the flock, and disappeared. A few seconds of white foam appeared on the surface as the survivors streamed by. About 12:40 pm I refound the eagle perched on the snag at S. 51st Street, bending over and pulling at prey held in its talons. Over decades past I have seen quite a few eagles hunting ducks, singly and in pairs, while birding my native Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, but rarely have I witnessed a successful hunt.
