EAGLES MATING -- it is a courtship dance called THE SPIRAL of DEATH

EAGLES MATING

-- it is a courtship dance called THE SPIRAL of DEATH

~ SUSAN LYNNE SCHWENGER

Eagles mating - it is called THE SPIRAL of DEATH


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5S0Hi9GXvs

Vancouver, BC -- March 21, 2008
When eagles LOCK TALONS in the air that is a courtship ritual.
To actually MATE they must be on a hard surface so the male can drop the sperm sac into the female.
People need to READ. The locking talons thing is NOT the act of MATING.
I FINALLY was at the eagles' nest by the Jericho Youth Hostel to witness them mating!
After countless hours and several weeks of waiting, my patience has paid off.

 

http://www.physorg.com/news190100548.html

Alaska eagle survives plunge after mating dance

AMAZING STORY of an
Alaska eagle survives plunge after mating dance

http://www.physorg.com/news190100548.html

officers were called, to help two eagles,
who talons had become locked together, be free again,
eagles lock together, when they are doing the death spiral,
which is part of their mating ceremony

 

Good Samaritans rescue hypothermic bald eagles from B.C. river (Photos)

A pair of bald eagles -- their talons locked together in battle -- were rescued from a frigid river on Vancouver Island recently after passersby happened to notice the struggling raptors.

The two eagles were found shivering in the Campbell River, near where the river flows into the Pacific Ocean, when Brenda Hancock walked by and spotted them in obvious distress.

"I had a stick with me but there wasn't anything I could do because they were too far out," Hancock told CTV British Columbia.

Instead, she quickly sought help from Ed and Jo Ivanisko, whose home is situated on the banks of the river, and the couple sprang into action.

Ed donned his chest waders and gloves, while Jo called Mountainaire Avian Rescue, located in Comox, B.C., about 45 minutes away.

But after seeing the birds' condition, Ed knew the eagles wouldn't survive if he didn't act immediately.

So he waded into the frigid water himself and began working to untangle the birds' talons.

“They were very cold, they were shivering. You could see that one bird was way colder than the other although they were both in distress,” Jo said.

Ed managed to free the hypothermic birds, who were too exhausted to fly away. One of the eagles could barely move and was easily captured by the Ivaniscos,

while the other managed to make it into the middle of the river before collapsing in the water.



Meanwhile, another eagle began dive-bombing the hypothermic bird as it struggled toward shore.

This time, Ed climbed into a canoe and paddled into the river, where he was eventually able to retrieve the eagle.

The birds were then taken to the Mountainaire Avian Rescue centre, where they were nursed, fed and allowed to rest and recover from their chilly ordeal.



"We arrived at just the right time to save those birds," Jo said.

The very next day the eagles were released back into the wild, something Jo described as "awesome."
SOURCE









http://bit.ly/Good-Samaritans-rescue-hypothermic-bald-eagles-from-BC-river-Photos

 

Jorgelito - Posted Jan 1st 2013

Those poor eagles! i wonder if they could come up with something not so morbid.

 

SUSANakaTHE13THBRIDGE - Posted Jan 1st 2013

This is really a mating dance

 

Eagles Mate For Life

When A female Eagle knows a male is interested,
she leads him on a chase through the skies, swooping and diving and soaring high above the hills.
When the chase is nearly over, she flies as high as she can and flips on her back, free-falling toward the ground.
It is the males job to place his body over hers and grasp her talons, flapping his wings with all his might
to keep her from certain death.
Moments before they hit the ground, the female pulls out of the dive and circles the male.
Because he was willing to stay even unto death, he proved himself as a mate.
They are joined for life at this point.

 

Alaska Eagle Survives 'Death Spiral' Plunge After Mating Dance

RACHEL D'ORO 04/10/10 12:27 AM ET
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/alaska-eagle-survives-dea_n_533637.html


This Sunday, April 4, 2010 picture provided by Bob Benda, a bird rescuer and biology professor at Prince William Sound Community College, shows a female eagle who fell into the snow in Valdez, Alaska. An acrobatic display of passion proved too much for a pair of eagles engaged in a mating dance in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The surviving female bird is recovering from injuries sustained when the winged couple slammed beak first into a hard snowbank in what her rescuers believe was an aerial
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An acrobatic display of passion proved too much for a pair of eagles engaged in a mating dance over Alaska's Prince William Sound.
The female bird is recovering from an injured wing and other injuries sustained when the couple slammed beak-first into a hard snowbank
in what her rescuers believe was an aerial courting ritual gone awry.
The male eagle died in the impact, which left the birds buried upside down at least two feet in the snow in the town of Valdez.
It's mating season for eagles, who perform an elaborate ritual where they clasp talons and spiral toward the ground.
This pair probably got caught up in the throes of the moment, said Bob Benda,
a bird rescuer and biology professor at Prince William Sound Community College
who was among those responding to the Easter Sunday crash.
"They just lose track of what they're doing and don't know how close they are to the ground," he said.
"It's raging hormones or something."
But most eagles fling themselves back to reality instead of diving through a crunchy layer of snow.
In this case, the male landed next to the female.
If the talons had been locked, they were now separated, possibly thrust apart by the velocity of the landing.
Benda said he thought both eagles had died but then noticed the female was breathing.
He helped arrange the eagle's transfer to the Anchorage-based Bird Treatment and Learning Center,
where she is slowly emerging from shock.
"She is less dazed and confused every day," said Cindy Palmatier, the center's rehabilitation director.
"She had this inward stare the first couple days."
Judging by the bird's initial condition, Benda is amazed it's still among the living.
The eagle had no broken bones, but she was severely traumatized, almost in a zombie state.
The day being Easter, Benda took the bird home and figured he would keep her warm and comfortable
in a crate in his heated garage until the end came.
The next morning, she was still breathing and moving a wing,
and by that night, she was being flown to Anchorage.
"I didn't see how she could survive, but now I'm so happy she did," Benda said.
At the rehabilitation center Friday, the eagle's head swiveled back and forth as she checked out some visitors.
A few days earlier, she would have paid no attention to them, said Palmatier, who believes her patient suffered head trauma.
The bird also showed no interest in food, but now is eating salmon and caribou meat. And she's been taken off pain medications.
But her left wing visibly droops and Palmatier said if there is significant ligament damage,
there's a chance the eagle might not be able to fly again. But it's too early to tell and there's at least a month at the center still to come.
Ultimately, Palmatier hopes the eagle can be released back to the wild in Valdez.
She's not too worried about any psychological effects from the loss of the bird's partner.
"I like to say they may mate for life, but they mourn for a moment," Palmatier said. "They get over it pretty quick."
___
On the Net:
http://www.birdtlc.net/
(This version CORRECTS SUBS 5th graf to correct male landed next to female, not on top)

 

Eagles mating - courtship ritual

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8D9Fe7tv8Y

 

Posted Oct 10th 2013

Courtship Ritual - The Death Spiral Plunge
Of all courtship rituals,none is as spectacular as that of the bald eagle.
A male and female climb to dizzying heights and then...
join in free fall...
plummeting towards the earth...
Locked in each other's embrace!
separating only at the very last moment.
~ MegaSoilman

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyzI6cBF50s

 

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAwcoFoAk_k

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