"But when it comes to courtship, bald eagles put the wild in wildlife. The maneuver above—known as the cartwheel display or death spiral—is chief among their “spectacular courtship rituals,” says wildlife ecologist David Buehler of the University of Tennessee. “The two soar up to high altitude, lock talons, and tumble and cartwheel toward Earth.” They let go before reaching the ground—except when they don’t. In 2014 two adult eagles, talons locked, were found tangled in a Portland, Oregon, tree.

🦅 As the bald eagle population continues to increase with nearly 300 nesting pairs in our state, we can expect to see more eagle-on-eagle aggression in the late fall. Once nesting site territory has been established in October and November, bald eagles will then be in a position to begin courtship and pair bonding in December. Nesting takes places in January! Thank you Chuck Crabtree for sharing this awesome sighting! #OutdoorOklahoma #baldeagles | Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (

Bald Eagle nest cam in Big Bear Lake, California