2017 Wildlife Photo Contest

Species: Bald Eagle | Location: Steuben, Maine, United States of America

While walking on a March morning, my dogs were suddenly under a large pine tree looking up. I saw a huge pair of black wings and wondered "why isn't that eagle flying off." As I came closer, I realized that it was hanging upside down, and its body seemed to have an odd shape. There was no doubt that those eyes were alert and warning--stay away. My first thought was that the eagle must be caught in some sort of line. As I tried to figure out my next step, a second eagle's head suddenly popped around the back of the first. Now I knew why the shape was odd! Trying to see why these two eagles were hanging together, upside down and in a tree, I looked toward the branch above them. Their talons were intertwined and they were hanging over the branch like two sacks of flour. Other than occasionally flapping their wings, they weren't fighting with each other. Just hanging there. It seemed to be like a giant game of "chicken" to see who would let go first. We backed off and I called our local game warden. He indicated that eagles will often lock claws in aerial displays for mating/territory. They then tumble through the air with one usually breaking off before they hit the ground. He had occasionally received calls where eagles were on the ground with their claws locked together, but hanging over a branch in a tree was a new one for him! We assume that the eagles, concentrating on each other, tumbled into the tree before letting go and found themselves hung over a branch about 30 feet up. Given that both looked healthy and there was no easy way to help, we decided to give them some space and time to get out of their predicament. I know they were still hanging there four hours later when I checked on them, but sometime during the following eight hours, one gave up and they safely flew away. We have lots of eagles here in Steuben Maine. All that summer when I saw eagles, I wondered if the eagles flying over my head were my "tree eagles."