Afterwards, we speculated on the eagle's change of heart. Gary thought that the eagle was simply playing with the duck. Teesh thought that our presence caused the eagle to abort its kill. The Bald Eagle has been quite successful on the eastcoast of Vancouver Island. We almost always see at least one every time we go for a paddle.
Eagles have a sufficient wingspan to electrocute themselves on hydro lines.
Last year I found an eagle in the Nanoose area with a bullet hole through its wing. Unfortunately, eagles are often poisoned. They are on the top of their food chain and can fall prey to a poisoned environment. Bald Eagles sometimes maintain two nests, one larger more frequented nest, and one smaller nest. The largest nests on record would be capable of holding a small car in them and weigh several tons.