An Oak Bay resident was in for a surprise while out in his kayak when he encountered an eagle hunting a mid-sized seal.
Jacques Sirois, a biologist, was paddling in McNeill Bay on May 8 when he spotted a long-billed dowitcher 含羞草研究社� a shorebird that forages in the mud and sand. Sirois pulled out his camera in hopes of capturing a photo when he noticed an eagle had also zeroed in on the dowitcher.
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The large bird of prey decided to put on a show 含羞草研究社� it swooped in but missed its mark, Sirois said. The frustrated eagle also missed another shorebird before setting its sights on a much larger target 含羞草研究社� a seal.
The eagle dove down to the water suddenly, he said. It captured something heavy and dragged it about 100 metres through the water as Sirois watched from his kayak 含羞草研究社� camera in hand.
含羞草研究社淭he eagle did a perfect butterfly stroke to shore含羞草研究社� before hauling its catch out of the ocean, revealing the seal, he explained. Sirois guessed the seal was about one year old 含羞草研究社� a yearling 含羞草研究社� as it was too big to be a pup but clearly not full grown.
含羞草研究社淚t was a totally unplanned event,含羞草研究社� Sirois said, adding how surprised he was to see the eagle move through the water with such a heavy animal in its talons. 含羞草研究社淚 was in the right place at the right time.含羞草研究社�
Sirois pointed out that there含羞草研究社檚 a pair of eagles who live in the area and he含羞草研究社檚 seen them hunting before but never something so big.
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含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檙e very busy hunting around south Oak Bay含羞草研究社� and often perch on the Trial Islands lighthouse, Sirois said.
While he was excited to capture the moment on camera, Sirois isn含羞草研究社檛 planning on framing the photos 含羞草研究社� because he simply has too many nature shots from many years of exploring the area.
含羞草研究社淲e are lucky to have so much nature here in the city,含羞草研究社� he said.
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