I was returning to our northeastern New York State home on a late April morning. I had been out looking for migrating birds. As I passed our self-service vegetable (and cider donut) man’s place on the left, I looked to my right and saw a Bald Eagle in the meadow. I turned around and parked. The eagle was tearing large chunks of meat from its prey as shown here.
Then orange feathers started flying as the eagle continued. Here is a shot with feathers flying.
I moved forward a bit so that I could see what the eagle was feeding on. Here it is – the remains of an orangish barnyard chicken.
When I was done shooting, I turned around and looked at the yard of the vegetable man. There stood two surviving chickens and a robin. Here they are.
Note that the headdress (comb) of the one on your left has been badly damaged. The feathers on the top of its back look disturbed as well. That bird had narrowly escaped an earlier eagle attack.
A couple of days later, I drove slowly past there and saw no chickens. I suspect that other arrangements had been made for the survivors. One day soon I will stop there for donuts, I mean vegetables, and may bump into the owner. I won’t show him the photos unless he wants to see them. I’ll be very surprised if he does.
I judge this eagle to be entering its fourth year of life. It does not yet have a completely white head.