A Virginia-based photographer who was amazed to see a bald eagle playing with a golf ball on the ice captured the moment on film and shared it on social media, now his video has gone viral.
On Dec. 27, 2022, Jeff Self, 56, from Chesapeake, drove 10 miles from his home to Stumpy Lake Natural Area. As Self parked his jeep, he noticed an eagle flying close by. Seeing another photographer he knew, Self grabbed his camera and the pair walked out onto the kayak launch ramp to see if they could capture some images.
“By then, the eagle had flown to the opposite side of the lake and was standing on the ice,” Self, who has been into photography for 10 years, told The Epoch Times.
The men then noticed a second eagle and a “small white object” on the ice close to the birds.
“At this point,” Self said, “the eagle hit it with its beak and would watch it roll away. Then it would ‘run’ over to it and do it again.”
Since Self couldn’t capture pictures with the 100-400mm lens that was attached to his camera at the time, he switched from stills to video. The golf ball game lasted for around five minutes, but what he witnessed was really entertaining.
“It was funny to watch this one eagle, in particular, hit the ball and chase after it over and over,“ Self said. ”At some point, the ball was hit by the eagle and it looked like it went under a small tree branch that was partially submerged.”
Self, who likes shooting wildlife, believes that the ice probably melted around it and the ball might have sunk into the lake.
After capturing the clip, Self and the other photographer agreed that “no one would ever believe” what they had seen.
According to Self, eagles are frequent visitors to the lake.
“We think there may be a nest forming here now,” he said. “On some days, I’ve seen as many as five eagles here at once, never playing golf, however!”
Stumpy Lake Natural Area contains a lake and a protected wooded area that is parallel to Stumpy Lake Golf Course. Self guesses that during the freezing weather, someone might have thrown a golf ball on the frozen surface of the lake.
“I live about two miles from the lake,” wrote one. “We know they nest and thrive there. Every year the young eagles fly above our house.”
“There are the two newest members of the US National Soccer Team or as the English call the game... ‘Proper Football,’” commented another.
Self, who was in the right place at the right time to capture the video, said that he has been amazed by how many people have viewed the video.
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