21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
A Mess of Fish

A bald eagle clutches three Atlantic mackerel that it had just plucked from the water. The mackerel were schooling in large numbers and the recent drop in water temperature had brought them closer to the surface to feed on plankton. A number of bald eagles were in the vicinty hunting the fish the mackerel were so thick that when the eagle went in to grab a fish, it came out with three of them.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: South Bristol, Maine, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Copyright: © Loren Merrill