This came from a gent who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron,

WI not far from Oshkosh. He used to fly F-4Es 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

besides us.

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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 degrees 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 reinforcement 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, (obviously a coordinated tactic; probably

pre-briefed) 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 air show 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!

I love it.  Not only did they kill their enemy, they ate them.  One of

the best Fighter Pilot stories I've seen in a long time

Nature at work. Good story.