Member-only story
Fight in Flight
Witnessing the Ugly Side of Birding
At first, I did a double-take.
My wife and I had just turned the corner onto Erickson Ave. just west of Harrisonburg, Virginia. As we passed the Word Ministries Christian Church entrance, I noticed two large birds to my left, just south of the church.
Both birds furiously flapped their wings. But there was something extraordinary about what we were seeing. My wife observed that they both appeared to have white heads.
I initially thought we were watching two Bald Eagles interacting. But the eagle was riding the back of the other bird, steadily forcing it to the ground. I tried to keep an eye on the plummeting birds while slowly driving. Fortunately, there was no traffic.
The birds, still locked together, disappeared from view since the roadway was below the level of the sloping land. We were on our way home from church, so I dropped off my wife at the house since dinner was in the oven. I grabbed my camera and binoculars and hurried back to the scene.
The birds had flown northwest over a wooded ridge that serves as the boundary between city and county. The hostile interaction began when they got to the clearing south of the church.
