The waters were insistently lapping ever closer.
On the waters, a flock of seagulls were sitting looking towards the sands.
I thought it was a trick of my imagination until I noticed the crows.
Along the cement stroll, a trio of crows were bobbing their heads up and down and making a racket. On the beach a few feet away another few crows were squawking loudly too. Then a hawk swooped overhead shrieking. This was alot of action for the beach at this time of day. It was around 06:30am. I sat and watched the birds not understanding until ....
The tide was almost completely in. There was perhaps six feet of beach left. I suddenly noticed, behind some driftwood just barely obscuring my vision from my seat, a flicker of movement. Without getting out of my car I moved myself to the middle of the seat and sat as high as I could get. There was an eagle sitting quietly at the shoreline. This then was the drawing card for the other birds.
The circling hawk had scared away the crows but the seagulls had moved closer and some had taken to the air pursuing the hawk in a straggly group. The others seemed to be readying an assault on the eagle. The big bird did not flinch at all even though the tide was about to hit him.
Suddenly there was a huge kerfuffle followed by a scattering of every left-over bird.
Reinforcements to the eagle camp arrived. A smaller bird swooped over the area repeatedly and cleared the way for a huge mature eagle with a spectacular wingspan.
He flew down low and scooped up something from beside the shoreline one.
As soon as he grapped it the other bird flew up and away.
Whatever it was the other bird was guarding was the size of a large roast and white.
I know because the big bird flew right past me and over the highway at a dangerously low altitude. He barely cleared the house a block down.
It was magnificent how bravely the smaller bird had stood guard.
There must have been 60+ birds ready to try to dislodge him.
He did not move not even when the tide had almost taken his prize.
Where did the other birds come from?
How did they know to come?
How long was the bird waiting?
It was a fabulous display of nature.
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