Eagle has landed

Photo from Margie Harris

In response to our recent stories about sightings of the Clark Lake eagle, Judi Blackmur posed the question “Any idea what this eagle will do/eat during the winter months?”

John Deming responds:

“Eagles eat mostly fish, an occasional duck and carrion. Once there is ice on the lake, a river would be the logical open water location for them to seek fish. I expect the eagle most recently will migrate to an open water river systems or far enough south to find open water. The open water must contain fish that the eagle can catch. Fish would need to be within reach of the eagle when it dives into the water. I would think 2-feet might be maximum. That doesn’t mean they can’t catch fish when the water is deeper than 2-feet, it just means the fish must be that close to the surface.

“When we have fished in British Columbia we have seen an eagle catch a salmon that is too large for it to fly off with–and then swim it to shore.

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