Eagles foiling waterfowl hunts.

Going Coastal

Eight Pointer
Just a discussion. They gotta eat too.

I have been on two different float hunts and had an eagle screw up my sneak each time. (Different locations)
Once with geese and the other time what I think we're black ducks.

Both times the Eagles came up empty handed and spooked the birds the other direction.
Never knew I would have so much competition. 😆 lol
 

Wanchese

Twelve Pointer
I don’t know about other areas but they seem to have had a really good nesting year here this year.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
Was 2 of the white head buzzards eating on a deer or some dead critter in the edge of the field beside the house today. Seeing more and more every year. Never seen them go after anything live around here. They just compete with the buzzards for the dead deer lying around
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
I've had them circle my boat several times in the Sound evidently looking for cripples. And I have had them take a cripple too. But the Greater black-backed Gulls will take a cripple in a second too. They are far more aggressive than your typical every day eagle.
 

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
Not an eagle story, but a hawk. I was duck hunting a little back woods pond, hit a duck and it was doing one of those gliding falls - so had to keep an eye on it if it landed in the bush. All of a sudden a hawk came screaming down and an explosion of feathers and a very sad sounding "quack quack" as the hawk flew away with my duck lol
 

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
Not an eagle story, but a hawk. I was duck hunting a little back woods pond, hit a duck and it was doing one of those gliding falls - so had to keep an eye on it if it landed in the bush. All of a sudden a hawk came screaming down and an explosion of feathers and a very sad sounding "quack quack" as the hawk flew away with my duck lol

Had the same thing one year in Montana, just got set up and here came a green head, shot it and thought, let it float and well get it later.... NOT... The eagle helped himself...
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
Watched them massacring ducks when the lakes were freezing over in MN. Ducks would late as long as possible to go south. They’d hole up in the tiny, room sized potholes of open water and the eagles would be there by the dozen picking them off, and then sitting on the ice around it eating them, looking like big bald headed penguins. Looked like something off Nat Geo
 

Fatkid

Eight Pointer
I had one of my most memorable bluebill hunts ever thanks to an eagle. Was hunting a creek mouth late season with a big decoy spread. The first flock of birds passed us by and headed about 1000 yards up the head of the creek and of course every flock after followed.

Eventually there were 1000 blue bills or so piled in there. Eventually an eagle came by and ran em up looking for cripples to eat I guess. I told the guys to untie the boat and we left our spread and motored up to where they had left from. Threw out 7 teal decoys I had held that morning in the boat.

In less than 30 minutes they started coming back in groups of 15 or 20. They would circle 1.5 times and come straight in to the decoys. We had quick limits. I think it was the year it was 4 a piece.
 

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
I've had them circle my boat several times in the Sound evidently looking for cripples. And I have had them take a cripple too. But the Greater black-backed Gulls will take a cripple in a second too. They are far more aggressive than your typical every day eagle.


I’ve had gulls get to my downed birds many times before I could and have the breast skin pulled open having a field day. Had an eagle pick up a pintail that I shot in Hyde one time years ago and sailed away with it.
 

DuckyDave

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Tuesday morning a couple miles from Chickahominy WMA in VA I saw a bald eagle sitting on top of a roadkilled deer 10 feet or so off the roadside (The Glebe, if you know where that is). I would like to have taken a photo but there was some traffic. How majestic--NOT! lol our national buzzard...word is they are doing a job on the wood ducks around here. I wish they would stick to eating just already-dead stuff.
 

TomstoSwans486

Four Pointer
Had a bald eagle pick up a hen mallard on opening day. I didn't have a boat and it floated down to brush, I Had to get out drive to the otherside of the marsh and walk in. As I'm driving down the road I see him circling...right over where the duck was. Needless to say, duck was gone.

Also, at Pamlico Point one time had an Osprey swoop and try to pick up a bufflehead decoy, he got close and realized it was fake...but he was going for it.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
Well speak of the “eagle”, had an adult male make off with a teal yesterday. Funny thing is I whistled my dog off a stone dead teal to another one we shot which was slowing swimming away. Dog caught up to the bird which commenced to diving. Dog finally caught bird but by then eagle locked in on dead bird and picked it up despite all my hollering. Had I let the dog pick up that bird first, the eagle never would have caught the second one.
The neatest thing about this was my buddy videoed a good majority of the event on his iPhone. Really cool to watch.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Tuesday morning a couple miles from Chickahominy WMA in VA I saw a bald eagle sitting on top of a roadkilled deer 10 feet or so off the roadside (The Glebe, if you know where that is). I would like to have taken a photo but there was some traffic. How majestic--NOT! lol our national buzzard...word is they are doing a job on the wood ducks around here. I wish they would stick to eating just already-dead stuff.
Smart bird eating what is available. Buzzard cant catch a sloth.
 
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