Click on the map to enlarge it. About This Site Planning Your Trip -- Detailed Expanations Old Faithful & the Geothermal Areas Yellowstone Lake Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs Wildlife Safari in the Lamar Valley Grand Teton National Park Float Down The Snake River The Grand Teton Wildlife Safari The Eagle Chases An Osprey Wild Flowers, Berries and Trees This travelogue is one family's experience in Yellowstone. To see a photo in a 1024 x 681 size, just click on it. We hope you enjoy the record of our journey, and that you get to experience your own. Note: Stock photos of these and many other images with reproduction rights are available in their original 3008 x 2000 size. Click here for more information. When we went on our wildlife safari, our guide, Taylor Phillips of Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures, took us to several places primarily to search for moose, who like to forage for food on river banks. When he stopped at this area near a small stream, we walked down to the river bank only to see two people fishing. While it's a common sight in both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone, we weren't likely to see any moose with people fishing nearby. However, eagles and hawks also frequent the rivers to catch fish, so we turned our attention to the sky above. When I looked up, I saw these two birds off to the left and pointed them out to Taylor, who looked at them through field glasses and got really excited. It was an eagle chasing an osprey, and they were headed towards us. Osprey, which are also known as fishing hawks, have polarized eyes, which reduces the glare they see on the water. They can also fully submerge several feet under the surface of the water to make their catch, and have very powerful wings that give them sufficient lift to them get back into the air. Finally, their talons rotate, which allows them to orient their catch parallel to their line of flight. Osprey are successful about 70 percent tof the time they dive to grab a fish. Eagles, on the other hand, are not very good at catching fish. Their eyes aren't polarized, so they see more glare, and they can't dive under the water, so they can only skim the surface. They do well if they're successful 30 percent of their dives. Eagles, however, are faster than the smaller osprey, so they will often try to steal the osprey's catch, as you can see here. Ben Franklin was so put off by this behavior that he opposed naming the eagle as America's national bird, writing, "I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him...." While the eagle is faster, the osprey has powerful wings, is very agile, and holds the moral high ground. After all, it was the one who caught the fish. In nature, however, it's might that makes right -- or at least that's what we're told. Fortunately, it's not that simple. As the eagle gains ground, the osprey uses its agility to veer off and keep the eagle from catching its lunch. As the two birds came closer towards us, the eagle would gain ground as long as the osprey didn't make any quick maneuvers. Here you see the eagle gaining on the osprey, who separates itself by veering off yet again. You can almost see the osprey changing direction in this shot as it continues to avoid the pursuing eagle. In this blow-up of the previous shot, you can see the osprey changing direction as it moves to avoid the eagle capturing its fish. The osprey separates itself by making a dive and, yet again, changing direction, When it does so, it heads right towards us. The chase continues as the osprey and pursuing eagle pass directly in front of us. Here's a blow-up of the above shot. You can see the fish in the osprey's talons as the eagle desperately tries to steal away a meal. Whenever the osprey stays on a straight path, the eagle gains. So the osprey keeps veering off, which it does in this shot as it makes a U-turn and heads in the opposite direction from the shot above. This time the eagle closes in and gets very close to the osprey. Is it about to capture the fish? In this remarkable blow-up, you can almost see the eagle getting ready to reach out its talons and grab the fish ... ... but the winner is the osprey. The eagle tired of the chase and broke it off, leaving the osprey to safely fly away and enjoy its lunch. In this case, might does not make right. Speed, agility, and the moral high ground win the day. Somewhere in the universe, Ben Franklin is smiling. Click here to see the wild flowers, berries, and trees that we explored on our safari.>

© 2009 by Stephen Caswell. All Rights Reserved.