Bald Eagle Seen Soaring Through the Sloop

Well this is pretty cool (via Sun Times):

David Lakauskas was taking a break in his South Loop office when he saw an unusually large bird flying by his window.

“In the corner of my eye I noticed something was not right,” he said. When he realized it was a “special bird,” he grabbed his camera.

Lakauskas was able to capture video of a bald eagle flying around his office building, at 329 West 18th Street, with about 10 seagulls following it.

So why were the seagulls following?  Two theories:

“Anytime there’s a big raptor around, other birds take notice. Most birds are fairly territorial so if an eagle comes by, gulls are going to mob it, harass it and try and get it to leave because if an eagle is there they’re all of a sudden at the bottom of the food chain,” he said.

Another possibility is that gulls were following the eagle to try and get a free meal.

“Gulls tend to be crafty when it comes to feeding,” he said. “If an eagle’s nearby … gulls will let a more competent raptor do the work of catching the fish or catching the duck and then once the prey has been captured, gulls will mob the raptor.”

If you're a fan of this here blog, you probably know we have a thing for birds in this neighborhood.  We even have a Peregrine Falcon named after it!