Acrobatic Crows

The positions in which I happened to catch these Crows in flight make me smile. A few seconds earlier, they had been down on the ground by the Bald Eagle, feeding on a dead Canada Goose. The Crows, Ravens and Black-billed Magpies all join in the feeding frenzy, apparently fearless of their much larger fellow eater. Taken from the other side of the Bow River at Carburn Park, on 31 January 2013. That morning, we saw 11 Bald Eagles (adults and juveniles) simultaneously, and there may have been others, too. There are a lot of these majestic birds of prey around at the moment.

"The Bald Eagle has a body length of 70–102 centimeters (28–40 in). Typical wingspan is between 1.8 and 2.3 m (5.9 and 7.5 ft) and mass is normally between 3 and 6.3 kilograms (6.6 and 14 lb). Females are about 25 percent larger than males, averaging 5.6 kg (12 lb), and against the males' average weight of 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). The size of the bird varies by location and generally corresponds with Bergmann's rule, since the species increases in size further away from the Equator and the tropics. The smallest specimens are those from Florida, where mature males may weigh as little as 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) and have a wingspan of 1.68 m (5.5 ft) ... The largest eagles are from Alaska, where large females may weigh up to 7.5 kg (17 lb) and span 2.44 m (8.0 ft) across the wings." From Wikipedia.

In comparison, a Canadan Goose "ranges from 75 to 110 cm (30 to 43 in) in length and has a 127–185 cm (50–73 in) wingspan. The male usually weighs 3.2–6.5 kg (7.1–14 lb), and can be very aggressive in defending territory. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter at 2.5–5.5 kg (5.5–12 lb), generally 10% smaller in linear dimensions than its male counterpart, and has a different honk." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/id