I got this from my father today. No idea if it's true, but it's a good story.
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From a fighter pilot friend
I got this from a friend who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron
WI, not far from Oshkosh. He used to fly F4Es and F-16s for the Guard
and participated in the first Gulf War...
Submitted for your enjoyment, and as a reminder that there are other
great, magnificent flyers around.
-Doc (AF)-
I went out to plant corn for a bit to finish a field before tomorrow
morning and witnessed The Great Battle.
A golden eagle - big bastard, about six foot wingspan - flew right in
front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were
continually dive bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this
because the eagles rob their nests when they find them.
At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then
landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood
about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too and took up positions
around the eagle at 120° apart, but kept their distance at about 20
feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards
one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their
distance.
Then the reinforcements showed up.
I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at
what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the
eagle on the ground took flight, and the three crows which were
watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going
to get in some more pecking on the big bird. The first crow being
targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell.
There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was
done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G
climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and
hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.
The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude
advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full
burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping
crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at
about 20 feet altitude.
This aerial battle was better than any airshow I've been to, including
the warbirds show at Oshkosh! The two eagles ripped the crows apart
and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my
way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate
its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see
in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky. What a
beautiful bird!
---------------------------
From a fighter pilot friend
I got this from a friend who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron
WI, not far from Oshkosh. He used to fly F4Es and F-16s for the Guard
and participated in the first Gulf War...
Submitted for your enjoyment, and as a reminder that there are other
great, magnificent flyers around.
-Doc (AF)-
I went out to plant corn for a bit to finish a field before tomorrow
morning and witnessed The Great Battle.
A golden eagle - big bastard, about six foot wingspan - flew right in
front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were
continually dive bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this
because the eagles rob their nests when they find them.
At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then
landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood
about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too and took up positions
around the eagle at 120° apart, but kept their distance at about 20
feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards
one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their
distance.
Then the reinforcements showed up.
I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at
what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the
eagle on the ground took flight, and the three crows which were
watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going
to get in some more pecking on the big bird. The first crow being
targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell.
There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was
done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G
climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and
hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.
The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude
advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full
burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping
crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at
about 20 feet altitude.
This aerial battle was better than any airshow I've been to, including
the warbirds show at Oshkosh! The two eagles ripped the crows apart
and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my
way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate
its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see
in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky. What a
beautiful bird!
