I’ll never get tired of watching bald eagles do the ‘Daredevil Cartwheel’.
It’s a ritual done by freedom birds in search of a mate and it involves flying high in the air, locking talons, and entering a death spin towards the earth’s surface before breaking just before the ground, then flying skyward and doing it again.
It’s equal parts beautiful and dangerous, as some unfortunate bald eagles have been known to perish after not letting go in time. If you’re having a hard time imagining what it looks like, boy do I have a video for you.
It was posted by a Seattle area Instagram account so I assume it at least took place in Washington and shows two bald eagles performing this daring move in front of a crowd of onlookers who were very much impressed with what they saw.
At first it seems the two birds are flying separately, but when they cross paths, the dance is on and they link talons and begin crashing towards the shore at high speeds, until they break, catch wind under their wings, and take off in separate directions.
As Buzz Lightyear would say, it’s falling, with style.
The palpable tension in the air turns into sounds of astonishment and I’m sure that’s a moment those people will never forget.
It’s WILD:
