JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for August 14, 2023

Yes, I heard that in Don Adams’ voice…….

“Get Smart” moment?

Just in time for the Eagles’ narrow preseason loss to the Ravens!

The majestic and powerful eagle swoops into the water to catch a fish.

at least the kids got a show!

A lot of eagles just wait around for another bird to snag a fish, then mug it and take the fish.

So the eagle arc (which started yesterday) will take over for Sunny trying to get Dexter?

Would you believe, I just wanted to cool off?

What’s that thing in the upper right-hand corner of the first panel?

“Would you believe ….?

The Maxwell Smart of Eagles!

Way too much information about Bald Eagles – Bald Eagles don’t get their distinctive white head covering until that mature. Prior to that their head covering is brown feathers. The easy way to tell if you are watching a Bald Eagle is their their legs and claws are bare other Eagles have feathers down to their claws.

I like the ‘sound effects’ the eagle made when flying into the water!

Cannonball!!!

Sorry about that, Chief.

It would have been a dead fish floating. They are basically carrion hunters with dead fish as a specialty Their diet is why Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey for our national bird, a dramatically smarter bird. PhD level compared to grade school.

No he has to try again or his credibility with them will be destroyed forever.

A long time ago I was in Alaska and was able to watch bears catch salmon. It was a good year for salmon and the bears would only take a bite out of the backs of the salmon and discard the rest of the fish to feast on are. The eagles would wait on the shore and scavenge the bears’ left overs. Later that day I had some salmon that had escaped the bears. MMMMMMMMM

Play the odds, you’ll get a fish eventually.

This eagle’s no good! C’mon, let’s go find that bear.

yup, up outa the airport marina and into airliner’s landing gear. US wildlife folks just can’t keep them away, or tear down nests quick enough. someone’s gonna get killed and we’ll make headlines again, someday. >

Maxwell eagle, secret agent…

Quick, get your partner 99 to get you a fish. She usually cleaned up all of your messes anyway.

Eagle talks like Don Adams!

That’s what you get for trying to show off!

The eagle must’ve left his glasses back at the nest. Dang refraction!

Maxwell Smart reincarnated.

I live on a rather wooded, rural property adjacent to a state forest in Connecticut. We get a large variety of birds visiting our back yard as a result. About 12 years ago, on a Saturday morning, I was sitting in my kit hen sorting through the junk mail that had accumulated over our recently completed summer vacation. I hears a thud from our deck. Thinking a smallish branch or a cluster of acorns had fallen onto the deck from a nearby tree, I was very surprised to not see any debris when I poked my head out the door to the deck. Puzzled, I walked out onto the deck to investigated further. There, on the grass about 10 feet below me ( our deck is fairly high off the ground), a red-tailed hawk was spawled out on the ground, not moving. I’m guessing that the hawk decided to go after one of the squirrels or chipmunks that was a frequent visitor to our deck railing. However, in its dive to snatch this prey, it missed and instead slammed head on into the deck railing.My first thought was that the hawk had broken its neck. I called to my wife, a veterinary technician with overv 25 years experience, “Hun, what’s the safest way to move a dead hawk?”She came out onto the deck and quickly surveyed the situation. The hawk was still splayed out on its back, not moving.“Do you still have those welding gloves from your dad?” “Yes, they’re on the bottom part of the shelfing next to the workbench in the furnace room.”“Eye goggles in their usual spot?”“Yep.”A few minutes later, my wife, wearing a heavy jacket, safety goggles and welding gloves was carefully stepping out from our basement walk out and slowly approaching the still-downed hawk. She was maybe 5 feet from it when it’s started to twitch. My wife took a few steps back, and suddenly the hawk flipped itself over and stumbling to its feet. My wife slowly withdrew to the walk out door. The hawk steadied itself, looking towards my wife the whole time.

Might have been a miss, but it would have looked spectacular to the kids!