River Talk

Into the wild blue yonder

By SCOTT RANDO
Posted 2/13/20

When we see wild animals in their habitats, we might see them display some behavior like chasing prey or demonstrating courtship behavior. Then, in the blink of an eye, it’s all over …

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River Talk

Into the wild blue yonder

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When we see wild animals in their habitats, we might see them display some behavior like chasing prey or demonstrating courtship behavior. Then, in the blink of an eye, it’s all over with.  Sometimes, the event happens so fast, many details are lost. Other times, there are many parts to the event sequence, and you wish you could analyze each part by slowing it down.

This week, with the use of high-speed photography, we’ve captured images of a half of just one second of a common event, an eagle’s flight. Eagles are graceful, agile flyers; whether soaring or sparring or in courtship flights with other eagles, they perform some eye-catching displays.

Like all birds, eagles have to stop flying occasionally to rest, feed, rear young and a variety of other reasons. When they launch themselves into the air again, it’s similar to an aircraft taking off: a lot of things have to happen for a successful outcome. Check out the images and captions in this column for a bald eagle’s launch into the wild blue yonder.

into the wild, blue yonder, bald eagles, flight, behavior

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