An eagle landed in a trampoline enclosure in Royston B.C. Friday and, with a little assistance from the homeowners, made it out safely.
Dale Robillard said he was watching a pair of eagles involved in a mating ritual called the death spiral. Also known as cartwheeling, the manoeuvre involves the eagles climbing to a high altitude, locking talons, then tumbling and spiralling toward the ground.
“Yesterday this spectacular courtship ritual brought both birds precariously close to the ground and in between large trees and houses,” said Robillard. “In what seemed like a purposeful act the larger eagle seemed to, at the last second, directly force the other eagle straight into the trampoline.”
He said the fallen eagle originally looked rather stunned, after landing in the enclosure.
“After watching for a few minutes hoping the captured eagle would self-rescue we felt it would continue to work itself into more panic and injury,” he explained. “We decided to open the zipper access in the screen and encourage it to safely escape. After several attempts to fly through the mesh the incredible bird made it through the opening to take ground refuge in amongst the trees.”
He said they watched to make sure the eagle wasn’t injured, and within a few minutes it found its mate and their dating ritual began again.
“What an incredible event to witness up close and personal – a true gift and nobody got hurt.”
His daughter, Candice Rawson, arrived in time to capture the trampoline portion of the exhibition on video.
Royston is just south of Courtenay, on Vancouver Island.
