Bald eagles, with their impressive wingspan and powerful talons, are prominent birds of prey across North America. Their presence often sparks curiosity regarding their dietary habits, particularly concerning larger avian species such as geese. Understanding their feeding strategies offers insight into their ecological role and ecosystem interactions.
Typical Diet of Bald Eagles
Bald eagles are opportunistic foragers, but fish comprise the majority of their diet. They are often found near large bodies of water, which provide an abundant food supply. Their strong legs and talons are well-suited for snatching fish from the water’s surface, and they possess sharp beaks for tearing prey. Fish can make up over half of nesting eagles’ diets, sometimes as much as 90%.
Beyond fish, bald eagles consume a variety of other prey. They hunt small mammals like rabbits, squirrels, and muskrats, as well as other birds, including ducks and coots. Reptiles such as turtles and snakes are also part of their diet. Bald eagles also readily eat carrion, including roadkill and dead fish. This adaptable behavior allows them to conserve energy and take advantage of readily available food sources.
Do Bald Eagles Hunt and Eat Geese?
Bald eagles can prey on geese, though it is not common. While adult geese are large and formidable, eagles may target vulnerable individuals. This includes goslings, which are small and less capable of defense, or sick, injured, or debilitated adult geese. Reports suggest that eagles might “buzz” a flock of geese to identify and isolate weaker birds.
Eagles may expand hunting efforts to include larger waterfowl when preferred prey is scarce. Attacks on healthy adult geese are rare, but can occur where eagles and geese frequently coexist during migration or wintering periods. However, success in capturing healthy geese is not guaranteed, and geese often evade capture.
Why Geese Are Not Common Prey
Several factors make geese uncommon prey for bald eagles. Adult geese, particularly larger species like Canada geese, possess significant size and defensive capabilities. They can weigh several kilograms and are aggressively defensive when threatened, hissing, biting, and flapping their wings. This makes them a challenging and potentially risky target for an eagle.
Flocking behavior also provides geese safety in numbers. A large group of geese can collectively deter a predator, and their combined vigilance makes a surprise attack difficult. Hunting a large, healthy goose requires considerable energy expenditure from the eagle, and the potential reward may not outweigh the risks and effort involved. Bald eagles prefer easier, less dangerous prey like fish, which are abundant in their habitats and require less energy to capture.