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One afternoon on Detroit Lake we got quite a surprise. Over at the edge of the lake about 500’ away an eagle was attacking the waters surface. So of course we turn that direction to see just exactly what is going on. It seemed strange for the bird to repeatedly attack the same spot because usually they are after fish, one stake and your done- you get it or come up empty, right?. So what is it after this time? As we got closer it becomes apparent that it is determined to end the short life of a fledgling duck. This little guy is a survivor though; each time the eagle would swoop down, the duck would dive under the water to get away. But you gotta know this is a game the duct will soon loose, to the dismay of the small children aboard. What is a captain to do?

I decided if I just kept approaching that the eagle would just fly away, no harm done. Not exactly! As we got closer the eagle gave us no consideration at all. In fact when we were closed enough for the duck to reach us he darted under the boat to hide, leaving the eagle hovering about 10’ above us. The eagle was so intent on getting its prey and so sure that this was already a done deal, she was not about to give so easily. I now was getting a little worried that she would attack us or who knows what, all I could picture was Mr. Park Ranger giving me some kind of citation for harassing Bald Eagles.

Finally after a couple of minutes she does fly off. We lean over the front of the boat to find the little duck madly swimming in circles. We try shooing him away but can’t get him out. Finally I just have to surge back from over the spot and he pops back up in front of us. Soon all his family members come swimming out from under cover along the shore to greet him. His first reaction is to continue diving under water as they approach but in the end, everybody is relived to see a happy reunion.

So how did the eagle fare? Later that evening we spot her flying her own babies, all four, way high in the sky above us. We could only imagine what she was saying to them as she would, one by one, fly up under them nudging them this way and that. “I can’t handle this anymore; you guys better learn to fly because you're gunna have to go find your own food!”

I guess it’s all in your point of view. Anyway it made for much conversation back at camp.