FZ200: Raven Feeding an Eagle

I was travelling last weekend and observed a group of ravens feeding on a carcass in the road ditch with an eagle watching.  When I stopped to take pictures the eagle flew into a nearby tree.  What happended next truly surprised me.  One of the ravens flew up to the same tree as the eagle and appeared to feed the eagle!  See picture below.  I discussed this with wildlife biologist friends and they had never heard of that.  Anyone else have any ideas.  Note that the picture quality is poor as the 48X zoom feature and then cropped the picture.

Dale

Raven Feeding Eagle

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

Paying tribute so the eagle won't eat the ravens?

-Erik

--
'He who hesitates is not only lost - he's miles from the next Exit.'
www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/ ohlsonmh@yahoo.com

Maybe its just protection meat, for when the vultures show up.

We don't have vultures in Canada.

Dale

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

Hey Dale, that's really cool... good capture and quick on the draw! Anyway, I'm not surprised, after all those are Canadian Ravens, very polite!

Rudy

--
The FZ200 - One step closer to bridging the gap.
Flickr photo gallery

Hi Rudy:

Only in Canada eh!

Dale

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

In New York, we call that the "cost of doing business"

Sherm

LOL! Hilarious!

--
The FZ200 - One step closer to bridging the gap.
Flickr photo gallery

great capture for the spur of the moment.

--
Cheers Roy from Down Under

Hi Dale,

This is one of the most intriguing images that I have seen in awhile!

I too, am in Canada here, specifically, Northern Ontario. I have only ever had the opportunity to witness a bald eagle once a number of years ago. This is a rarity for us here and sadly, I didn't have a camera to capture the event. What I did see, was a number of ravens, almost seeming to be chasing the eagle in mid flight until it landed in a tree for a moment or two.

Upon my return to work, I contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to inform and verify what I had witnessed. They said that the bald eagle is making a comeback in this territory and had calls come in from time to time, verifying a number of sightings.

Dale, I respect your image, so I certainly will not copy it, but would you mind if I furthered the information on to some of my contacts at the local North Bay MNR in the off chance that they can give us further information on this fantastic display?

I believe that an image of this calibre would be of great value to them...and to us here that live in Canada...as I've never seen something like this?????

What a great shot Dale! Congratulations! I think that images like this give us a further sense of learning about the world that we live in and share with the creatures that we know very little about.

Thank you so much for sharing your work Dale.

Thanks

Kim

--
Shoot first and ask questions later!

Hello once again Dale,

I couldn't help but notice your comment regarding vultures. We do have "Turkey Vultures" here in Canada, Northern Ontario to be exact, and I happened to get a shot or two this past summer of one. Shocked the heck out of me as I had never seen one before.

If you are interested, I can try and post an image, but for some reason, the new DP Review site makes it tricky to do so???

Let me know and I can try again if you are interested.

Thanks

Kim

--
Shoot first and ask questions later!

Hi Kim:

I am not sure we have them in Alberta though.

Dale

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

thanks Kim

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

That is intriguing!!  Almost like a case of brood parasitism.

--
yuki

agreed

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

Animals can adopt animals from other species and raise them or protect them. So, wondering if the eagle had been adopted as a chick somehow by the ravens. Was an egg laid in a raven's nest? Who knows. Hard to tell what's taking place between the two, but they don't look like they're arguing about anything. Thanks for posting this puzzle from nature. Turkey vultures are rather interesting. They urinate on their feet as one means of cleaning off bacteria from the carcasses they feed on. Bet you didn't know that one!

http://vulturesociety.homestead.com/TVFacts.html

--
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." (A.A. Milne)

Well, my take on the photo is that the raven is near the eagle, but not feeding it. Due to fore shortening in the photo it gives the illusion that the raven might be right next to the eagle but actually is on a different branch probably a number of feet (meters in Canada, eh!) from the eagle.

I've seen crows or ravens kind of harass hawks in trees down here in Mass. Best to keep your enemies in sight and close.

Don

Hi Don:

Why would the raven fly from the carcass to be near the eagle?  My wildlife friends think it may be a feeding situation, although this picture does not definitively show it.  Interesting behaviour nontheless!

Dale

--
http://www.pbase.com/abundant108
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/daledoram

I think your explanation makes sense, Don. That raven may be the watch bird of the flock or maybe an alpha raven. As humans, we often ascribe human behavior to animals, which sometimes is right, but often just off base. Bottom line is--we really don't know what was going on and there's no series of photos to help explain the scene better. But, it is a nice catch for sure.

--
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." (A.A. Milne)

Sherm, are you implying that the eagle is running a protection racket?

--
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." (A.A. Milne)