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For a couple of day this Bald Eagle did not want to move…

old bald eagle on Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge auto tour.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Unexpected site on Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge auto tour route.

And there was our national symbol sitting in the middle of the road, no political pun intended.
I stopped at a respectful distance, shutting the engine off. A change in motion and sound normally triggers evasive departures by most birds. The bald eagle did not move. I opened and shut the truck door, walked around to the tailgate, hopped into the pickup bed, opened the tool box and pulled out several cameras. The bald eagle did not move. Now, there was the repetitive sharp sound of my shutter snapping shut, my distinct profile of an erect human holding a long-lensed camera, much like a hunter, and my movement in the open without any camouflage. The bald eagle did not move, nor did it look at me.

Bald eagle in Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge auto tour.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson

I watched other walk up to this bird, and it just didn't want to move.,

I had no desire, or need with my telephoto lens, to get near to this bird. My first thought was it might be sick with one of many disease that spreads among birds like cholera. Or many it was old and on its last legs. I hopped back in the cab, started up the engine, pulled the truck off to the road’s side so other vehicles could pass, shut the engine off and waited for the next humans to come up on this bald eagle. Through all of this the bald eagle remained in place with constrained subtle head movements. It didn’t appear to be on an eagle-eyed vigil for food. It was there and no more.

Bald Eagle resting on post at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

The Bald eagle would fly at the last moments to nearby posts to avoid intruders.

It just didn’t want to fly away. Either it had little energy or a mysterious force kept in this area.
A car passed from behind and stopped 30 yards short of the bald eagle. Excited, a middle-aged couple hopped out of their sedan and approached the large bird with point-and shoot cameras. They click off shots as they continued to draw closer, at 15 yards the bird took flight, lumbering low through the air to a pole near the water. The couple returned to their car and continued along the auto tour. The bald eagle sat on the post. I took more shots from inside the cab and drove off. I planned to return the next day to see if the bird was still there.
That is an unusual thought that this predator would stay in one place, out in the open on a road for any length of time, let alone 24 hours. When I arrived back at the studio I called Fish and Wildlife and reported what I thought was a sick bald eagle on Lower Klamath National Wildlife. I was surprised by the nonchalant response, but then, sickness and death are part of Refuge life, they see it everyday. I understood a hands-off policy is the preferred way.

Bald Eagle on post at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  Photos by Andersd Tomlinson.

A day later and the bald eagle was still here. Could it fly away if it wanted?

I returned the next day and there was the bald eagle perched on another pole no more than 50 yards from the spot I first saw it on the road. I rolled down the window and took a series of portraits. I decided to remain and observed the birds actions. It was obvious it didn’t want to fly away. It stayed within a radius of a couple hundred yards from a willow tree at the water’s edge. More cars came, stopped, and approached the bird, and at some point the bird would again takeoff to a nearby post to avoid humans. Sad. Real. I left and drove around the Lower Klamath National Refuge with plans on stopping back here on my return home. A couple of hours later I found the bird on yet another post being photographed by a couple of men with professional camera gear. Word was out on the Bald eagle that wouldn’t leave. After the camera people left the eagle flew back to land on the road near the willow tree. Shortly after they left U.S. Fish and Wildlife arrived on the scene. Two rangers stopped and pulled a long stick with a net from the pickup and started to slowly approach the bird. They almost came made it to within the stick’s range before the bird again took awkward flight. This time it headed low and slowly over open water. U.S. Fish and Wildlife went on with their daily rounds and headed down the road.

Bald eagle snags duck, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

This triumphant moment was the last time I saw this Bald Eagle,

The bald eagle looked to be headed to land on a nearby island. Several ducks and geese were there. The sight of an approaching bald eagle would normally make all waterfowl take off and avoid the big predator bird. Here, they stood their ground. It was as if they had been observing the bald eagle and no longer considered it a threat. Amazing. The bald eagle circled the mound and then dropped to the water and returned with a duck to the willow tree at the road’s edge. The bald eagle had found food, maybe its last meal, on the Refuge.

The next day there was no sign of the bald eagle except for a pile of duck feathers by the willow tree. And so it is.

©2011 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.



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