Waiting for the muskrat to appear?

….or digesting him?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Now thats a cool picture.

Or both??????????????

Great photo Jason. I see one eyeing a toothpick.
That reminds me of last year when I was on South Lindstrom and noticed a lone eagle flying at water level. With the look of intent and determination, he was gettin’ it like an A-10 Warthog flying CAP in Attack mode on a target. The target was a floatilla of Coot in deep water. As soon as the eagle’s cover was blown the water erupted with flapping coot wings as they dove to elude the predator. The eagle flared and went vertical to prepare for another attack, eyes fixated on the water like attack radar waiting for the coot to reappear. The eagle could see well below the surface of the water and it was obvious he had picked a specific target when it made another flare and dove for the water just before a coot surfaced. As soon as the coot’s head popped up it realized it’s dilemna and dove to to avoid a talonectamy. The eagle was an instant too late and again pulled up to gain altitude and make another pass. The eagle was relentless. This went of for at least 10 or 15 minutes until the coot was so out of breath from barely being able to get air that it basicly drowned itself. The eagle swooped in for the final hoorah and flew off with a holiday meal that was almost too heavy to keep airborne. It percivered and landed in the treetops on shore. I was really impressed. Forgot all about fishing the whole time, I was so caught up in the hunt. That was so cool and I was glad I took the time to just sit and watch nature go by.

No finer meal than a plateful of muskrat with a side of wild rice…

Cool pic!!

On a side note, my Uncle used to volunteer at the raptor center and work with the eagles. Apparently they all have very particular tastes. Some would only eat fish guts, some only fish heads and the with body parts of other meals. They wouldn’t touch anything else. Of course being captive, they may have developed a certain tastes. But the point is, eagles can be wasteful and will only go after their favorite prey. By far, most eagles only prey on fish.

I just found it interesting and thought I would share.

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But the point is, eagles can be wasteful and will only go after their favorite prey.

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Exactly! I’ve watched a number of eagles kicking the walleyes back in the water when we’ve tossed them on shore.

(I betting I would live just as long if I wouldn’t have ever said that. )

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(I betting I would live just as long if I wouldn’t have ever said that. )

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It is one thing to be brave, another to be fool hardy. Walleyes were probably too big to keep, right.

I want to reply Ns, but there’s about 2 members that don’t understand walleye jokes and I’m close to getting a nasty gram.

They weren’t too big, we just had enough bait.

**No walleyes were actually hurt in this post.