The Eagles and the Duck....

The fellow sitting on the tailgate of his pickup truck never realized the show he was missing.
Tipul din departare care sta in spate la pickup truck n-are habar ce spectacol se petrece chiar aici pe lac in fata lui.

The little duck watches as the Eagle speeds straight at him at about 40 mph.

Ratusca se uita cum un vultur se indreapta spre ea la 40 de mile pe ora.

With perfect timing, the duck always dove and escaped with a mighty splash!
Then he'd pop to the surface as soon as the Eagle flew past. This was repeated over and over for several minutes. I worried the poor duck would tire and that would be the end of him.

La momentul exact rata se baga cu capul sub apa si scapa de ghiarele vulturului, apoi apare afar undeva mai departe dupa ce vulturul a trecut. Aceasta rutina s-a petrecut de citeva ori pentru citeva minute in sir. Eram ingrijorat ca rata o sa se oboseasca si o sa sfirseasca in ghiarele vulturului…

A second Eagle joins the attack!
The duck kept diving "just in time", so the Eagles began to dive into the water after him!

Al doilea vultur s-a hotarit sa treaca la atac. Rata continua sa se ascunda in momentul cind vulturul ar fi inhatat-o. Asa ca vulturul asta s-a gindit sa mearga mai adinc in apa dupa ea.

After several minutes the Eagles got frustrated and began to attack each other.
They soon began to dive vertically, level out, and attack head-on in a good
old-fashioned game of high-speed "Chicken". Sometimes they banked away from each other at the last possible second. Other times they'd climb vertically and tear into each other while falling back toward the water. (The duck catches his breath at the right side of this picture.)

Dupa citeva minute amindoi vulturii frustrati au inceput sa se bata amindoi. Au inceput sa se arunce vertical si sa se atace cap in cap. Citeodata veneau asa din viteza si in ultima secunda schimbat directia. Altadata se ridicau impreuna in sus batindu-se si cazind impreuna spre lac. In timpul asta rata se odihneste undeva in afara pozei…

A terrible miscalculation! The luckiest shot of my life catches this 100 mph head-on collision between two Bald Eagles.

Un calcul gresit…si cele doua pasari mari s-au lovit cap in cap in ceea ce parea 100 mph…

One Eagle stayed aloft and flew away, but the other lies motionless in a crumpled heap.The lucky duck survived to live another day.

Un vultur cumva dezorientat a zburat de la locul accidentului…dar celalalt, era ca un ghem de pene …Rata a mai primit o zi de viata…

It's sad to watch an Eagle drown. He wiggled, flapped and struggled mostly underwater. He finally got his head above water and with great difficulty managed to get airborne. To my astonishment, he flew straight toward me, and it was the most wretched and unstable bird flight I've ever seen!

E trist sa te uiti cum se ineaca un vultur. Dadea neputincios din aripi…mai mult sub apa decit deasupra. In sfirsit, cumva si-a scos capul deasupra apei si cu mare dificultate porni sa zboare din nou. Spre surprinderea mea, zbura chiar spre mine., si era un zbor nesigur si imprastiat…

The bedraggled Eagle circled me once - then lit atop a nearby fir tree. He had a six-foot wingspread and looked mighty angry. I was concerned that I might be his next target, but he was so exhausted he just stared at me. Then I wondered if he would topple to the ground. As he tried to dry his feathers, it seemed to me that this beleaguered Eagle symbolized America in its current trials.

Vulturul mi-a dat ocol odata si apoi s-a oprit pe virful unui pom din apropiere. Cu o aripa de 6 foot lungime atirnindu-I intr-o parte si arata tare minios.. Ma gindeam ca s-a gindit poate sa ma atace pe mine…dar arata obosit si doar ma privea…Apoi mi-a trecut prin cap ca o sa cada de acolo jos…Cum incerca insa sa-si uste penele…ma gindeam ca ce simbol mai bun ca vulturul asta pentru starea si situatia actuala a Americii…Doar vulturul este simbolul tarii noastre

My half-hour wait was rewarded with this marvelous sight.
He flew away, almost good as new.
May America recover as well.
Dupa jumatate de ora insa…asteptarea mea a fost rasplatita la vederea maiestatii acestei pasari. Vulturul zbura de acolo…ca si cind nimic nu I s-a intimplat. Fie ca si America sa se reabiliteze la fel ca aceasta pasare care-I poarta simbolul