Aerial Acrobatic

Close Encounters of the Feathered Kind

Driving along a two-lane highway in Colorado's Rocky Mountains north of Fort Collins, my son, Dean, and I experienced an up-close-and-personal view of a Golden Eagle in flight. We were heading down the mountain towards the Denver Airport where Dean would catch a flight.

Low grass and brush spread out on both sides of the mostly empty roadway, with clusters of evergreen trees standing between us and the rocky peaks a short distance away. The expansive summer sky was a faded blue, and billowing clouds grew over the mountains.

Off to our left, a large raptor appeared low in the sky, flying parallel to the road. I slowed to admire its graceful flight. It appeared to be hunting, and we hoped to witness its soundless dive for prey. Instead, the huge, dark bird sailed smoothly downward and swooped across our path to land beside a mound of roadkill in the middle of the asphalt ahead. I slowed some more. The muscular bird-of-prey looked up, directly at us approaching, and once again took to the air. Dean and I presumed the bird would fly off to the side and wait for our van to pass before returning to its roadkill meal.

Perhaps, this individual bird had not before encountered cars. Perhaps, it thought of us as competitors for its food. Perhaps, it couldn't comprehend our size and speed. For whatever reason, it made a nearly fatal misjudgment, and in doing so, performed a death-defying feat of flying skill.

Aquila chrysaetos, the Golden Eagle

When the giant raptor rose into the air, it rocketed straight upward. Pumping its broad powerful wings, it climbed only about 100 feet before stopping mid-air in a complete stall, like a plane in an airshow. At the peak of its stall, it paused weightless, before rolling backwards, talons over beak, in a tight, slow-motion back-flip, then spun around to face the spot on the road where its roadkill lay. It dove like a missile, plummeting downwards, wings tucked tightly for speed.

He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

~ Alfred Tennyson

I hit the brakes hard, as this was all playing out unexpectedly just feet in front of our vehicle. The bird abruptly changed directions once more. A moment before it would have hit the asphalt, it twisted and turned in flight to head directly towards us like a bullet.

Within seconds, its gaping black beak and wide dark eyes were inches from our windshield, its broad talons and golden belly in full view near the glass. Instintively, we both ducked and yelped.

Powerful wings, wider even than the car, made one last, gigantic thrusting stroke through the air above the van's hood. Wingtip feathers brushed the glass. Its body slipped up and over the slanted windshield and roof of the van. That last muscular beat of wings, together with the lift created by the still moving van, swept the bird up to safety and out of sight.

That was a Golden Eagle! 
That was amazing!
What just happened?
I'm not sure I believe what I saw!
I did not just dream that. That back flip really happened, didn't it?
What was he thinking? How did he miss hitting us?
It's a good thing there were two of us to see that. No one would believe it otherwise.
I'm not sure I'd believe it myself, if you weren't here with me to confirm what I saw.

Aquila chrysaetos, the Golden Eagle

Have you ever enjoyed a memorable close encounter with a wild animal?

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