Caught on Cam: Bald Eagle Takes on Hawk

Camera captures eagle defending nest

It’s eagle versus hawk and we aren’t talking about football.

The Eagle Cam at New Jersey's Duke Farms captured a bald eagle defending its nest from a red-tailed hawk.

Video shows the eagle pouncing as the hawk swoops toward the eagle's hatchlings early Sunday afternoon at the Hillsborough wildlife farm. Feathers flew and the hawk ended up dead on its back.

VIDEO: Watch The Eagle vs. Hawk Fight Here

The eagle is then seen feasting on the remains. Throughout the week the two eagle parents and two eaglets dined on the carcass. By Friday only the tail feathers and inedible parts of the hawk were left, according to a Duke Farms spokeswoman.

The bald eagles have raised nearly 15 hatchlings since 2005. Duke Farms installed the camera in 2008.

Duke Farms Director of Stewardship Thom Almendinger tells the Courier News of Bridgewater the weirdest thing he's seen before the hawk attack was the eagles bringing a whole fawn to their brood.

“I’m sure it happens often, but it’s not caught on video very often,” Almendinger told the Courier News. “It was pretty wild.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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