Tom Marschner and his faithful walking companion, Ellie the Golden Retriever, encountered a rare and sad occurrence while hiking Mount Grant Preserve Friday afternoon. Nearing the summit, they discovered a pair of dead Bald Eagles
splayed out on a mossy outcrop nearly touching one another. The eagles’ demise was most likely the result of a risky “pair-bonding” courtship ritual, where they climb into the sky, lock talons, and spiral to earth.
In rare instances, the eagles fail or are unable to untangle from one another in time. Tom reported the incident to Land Bank staff, who collected the birds and delivered them to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Wolf Hollow will document the birds’ injuries before sending them on to the National Bald Eagle Repository operated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The repository was founded in the 1970’s in order to provide eagle feathers to Native American Tribes and Alaska Natives for whom the eagle feathers are cultural and religious purposes. To learn more about Bald Eagle behavior visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
