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Haliaeetus leucocephalus
I am excited I got some photos of the nictitating membrane on this eagle. It is basically the inner eyelid present in some animals, mostly birds and reptiles. You can see on his beak and his talons there are lots of fish bits and blood. Like many of the eagles here, it scavenges off of fishing boats rather than doing its own hunting when possible. When the fishermen are going through the nets to find any straggling fish bits stuck in them, the eagles, gulls, and the sea lions wait in/near the water or on the boat deck to quickly grab scraps. For larger boats, it can become a feeding frenzy, attracting dozens of eagles and sea lions. This is more common in the wintertime, as I rarely see eagles in such large numbers in the summer here and the sea lions don't seem to be waiting behind boats as often then either.
Commercial fishing boat in a harbor near town.
Spotted on Mar 28, 2018
Submitted on Apr 18, 2018
3 Comments
Thank you DrNamgyalT.Sherpa and thank you for the nomination!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Great close-up Machi!