THE CATCH

by Margaret Turner

I have taken the trip form the mainland port of Tsawwassen to the port of Schwartz Bay on Vancouver Island many times to visit my in-laws. The trip is always a delight as the ferry goes through a section of water known as Active Pass where it just squeezes past several small Islands. It feels as if you could jump off the ferry onto the pebble beaches or the rocky cliffs of the Islands. This section is also very close to the Schwartz Bay port so one knows that one's destination is close at hand.

I was on the trip back to the mainland with a hoard of twelve year old boy scouts. These boys were having the time of their lives, running up and down the decks, and clambering up and down the stairs, yelling all the while. I thought I was in for a loud, hectic trip but I need not have worried. The Purser barked over the loud speaker for orde, the den mothers turned on the heat, and suddenly there was silence. I was left in peace on the upper deck while the ferry loaded its lower decks with 250/300 cars and trucks.

I was looking at the thin beach line when I spotted it. It was a Bald Eagle with a large fish. The fish was too heavy for this bird to become airborne so it had to find another way to get home with its dinner. The eagle spied a wooden wharf about one foot off the beach and several feet away from it. So the bird decided to drag the fish to the wharf. The bird pounced on the fish and with the help of its wings was able to bounce the fish along, then it would tug and pull the fish and go back to bouncing the fish until it finally reached its destination, the wharf. From the wharf the eagle had enough space to spread its large wings out full, jump off the wooden platform, with the fish, and get enough lift to begin its ascent into the atmosphere.
I watched in awe as this Eagle soared homeward, with its prize catch clenched in its talons, and thought how lucky I was to have witnessed nature in action.

Margaret Turner © 2003