I had seen this "talon lock" maneuver several times in the past several years, but they had been at a considerable distance. This time, the drama unfolded in front of me. I believe that Sterling was attempting to chase this intruder away.
I had been watching a new, younger (about 4+ years old) eagle fly in and out of the Osprey nest. Suddenly, a second, mature eagle appeared. This eagle turned out to be Sterling (right).
I generally don't publish large quantities, but the experience was quite extraordinary! The shots are in sequence, as the action unfolded. As you scroll through the photos, Sterling's band on her right leg is visible on most of them. The younger eagle still has some dark tail and head feathers.
The last photo is almost eye level as they tumbled towards the street (Sterling on top). This is when I got very scared that they were going to crash. I started running, but they disengaged at the last moment and flew in opposite directions, with Sterling landing about 1/4 mile away.
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