First article
BELLINGHAM - Bruce Huntley has a good excuse for the one that got away.
The Ferndale resident was fishing on Lake Padden a few weeks ago when he felt the wind on his head and heard the ruffle of feathers above him. Before he knew it, a bald eagle was trying to snatch up the fish on his line just 10 feet in front of his boat.
"He came out of the tree and scared the holy bejesus out of me," he said, admitting that having a 6-foot bird of prey so close to his head and his inflatable boat was pretty terrifying.
Huntley was out doing some catch-and-release fishing with his buddy Rick Warren when the eagle swooped in and stole his fish. Though he's seen eagles relatively close fishing on rivers, it was nothing like this.
"I've never had one a foot over my head," he said. "It's really cool to feel that. It's just, 'Wow, did that just happen?' "
The eagle, which Huntley said nests with its mate near the lake, has stolen fish from others before. Huntley thinks the bird might be learning, letting the fishermen do the work and then taking advantage of an easy catch. And not just any fish will do. Warren said he's seen the eagle watching him as he's caught small fish, but the bird was not interested in those.
The incidents seem to be most common when the lake is calm, clear and flat. Those were the conditions each time the eagle has come down near him.
"To have something like that happen, I was just in awe," he said. "That's nature at its best. Nature is always unpredictable. You never know what's going to happen."
After seeing the eagle, Warren decided to bring his camera out on his boat the next time the two went fishing.
"It's so unreal. You never expect to get that close to an eagle, especially with his talons out," Warren said. "It was a really great experience."
About a week ago, Warren was able to capture the massive bird in action.
"It was excellent. I was so happy when I actually got the picture and looked at it," Warren said. "It was a lot better than catching the fish, just catching the shot. It was incredible."
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Fishing buddies Bruce Huntley and Rick Warren were enjoying a relaxing day on Washington's Lake Padden. Huntley was reeling in one of the lake's rainbow trout when a massive, 6-foot bald eagle swept down from the skies and stole Huntley's catch directly off his fishing line.
"I noticed the eagle had been watching us from the tree, did one circle, went right over his head. I yelled 'watch out,' Warren told Yahoo News in a phone interview.
Warren, an aspiring photographer, says he'd heard stories of birds stealing fish from humans on Lake Padden, but neither he nor Huntley had ever seen anything quite like the bold eagle that literally snapped Huntley's fishing line and flew off with his catch.
"He was a little shocked," Warren said of Huntley's reaction. "He said you could almost feel the compression coming off the wings, less than a foot from his face."
"He came out of the tree and scared the holy bejesus out of me," Huntley told the Bellingham Herald.
About a week later, Huntley and Warren returned to the lake and attempted to recreate the scene. At first, Huntley caught a few smaller fish. But those didn't really seem to capture the attention of the male eagle, which Warren said appeared to be developing a method for snatching free meals from fishermen on the lake.
Eventually, Warren was able to catch a stunning photo of the bald eagle in action, attempting to steal a trout off of Huntley's fishing line.
They also noticed that the eagle has a mate, whom he takes the stolen fish to before returning for another round. "She was just squawking at him, waiting for her lunch," Warren joked. "We're just bringing the fish to the surface for him."
Warren submitted his photos to the Bellingham Herald, and they have been generating significant interest from outdoor enthusiasts and casual viewers alike. However, not everyone believed the action shots were entirely legitimate.
"I sent the photos to my family, and they were looking at them on their iPhones," Warren said. "My Dad said, 'those have obviously been photoshopped. There's no way they are real.'"
Warren said he would eventually like to become a full-time professional photographer and says all of the unexpected attention has been welcome.
"It's been great," he said. "It's all been a lot of more than either of us expected."
