Do ospreys and bald eagles like each other?  I don't think so...



In the past few days when I've been driving on 520 near Marymoor I've seen a big bird nest on a pole, often with a bird of prey sitting on top.  On Sunday I finally got the chance to check it out.

Turns out that it's an osprey nest, and it's in a great location if you like watching or photographing osprey.  It's in Marymoor Park right behind the velodrome.

While I was watching the osprey a bald eagle flew into their airspace, and clearly the osprey weren't happy about that.  The osprey chased the eagle several hundred feet up into the sky, and then they started to tangle, which is when I got the photo above.  I don't think they ever actually made contact, and eventually the eagle left.

After the eagle left the area the osprey flew back down and circled the area a few times.  The interesting thing was that even though the eagle was gone, the osprey flew around with it's talons fully extended and visible, as if to say, "I just took down a bald eagle...anyone else want some?"  I got my favorite shot just as the osprey landed after the incident: check it out.