Corey Cain, a New England-based photographer who travels throughout southern Maine, captured this footage of a bald eagle on the banks of the York River in December 2023.
The stunning footage shows an eagle, which Cain has started to call “Sammy,” taking off and grabbing a large stick in its powerful talons.
Eagles use sticks, branches and grass to build their enormous nests, which are generally six feet across and around four feet or more deep, according to the American Eagle Foundation. One nest in Florida was recorded at 22 feet deep, the foundation said.
Eagles tend to use the same nest from year to year, adding to it each time and growing its height.
Cain has spent years photographing the eagles, and said that he has built a sort of repertoire with many of the birds he shoots. He particularly remembers one female eagle that he has followed since she hatched six years ago.
Cain had followed the eagle’s family since 2017, but the father died of what he suspected was Avian flu, which also took the lives of two chicks in that 2020 brood. He did not confirm whether the birds were tested for the disease.
Cain noted that as of April, the female he has followed has hatched her second egg since he started observing her.
BDN Outdoors editor Julie Harris contributed to this report.
