Canada Goose vs. bald eagle: Photographer captures bird battle on Lake Ontario

On Feb. 23 at around 11 a.m., eagle-eyed photographer Mervyn Sequeira zeroed in on an impending battle between a Canada Goose and a bald eagle on Lake Ontario.

An amateur photographer’s images of a 20-minute battle for survival between a Canada Goose and bald eagle have quickly caught the attention of many Canadians as a symbol of the escalating tensions between Canada and the U.S.

On Feb. 23 at around 11 a.m., eagle-eyed photographer Mervyn Sequeira zeroed in on an impending battle between a Canada Goose and a bald eagle, which is the national bird of the U.S., on the frozen ice of Lake Ontario.

“I saw the bald eagle coming in. It seemed to had purpose and it was heading straight for a goose that was out on the frozen lake,” the 74-year-old said of the scene that was unfolding near LaSalle Marina in Burlington, Ont.

“It made several attacks on the goose. The goose fought back as best it could.”

Sequeira, who has been taking nature photos since he was in his teens, said that the symbolic bird battle which was unfolding before his eyes on the frozen ice went on for about 20 minutes.

“At the end of 20 minutes, the bald eagle just gave up and took off,” he described. “During that time, there were moments when we thought it was over for the goose because of all the equipment that the bald eagle had in terms of talons and whatever else. However, the goose survived the day.”

He said there was something poetic about the scene from nature that was unfolding before his eyes.

“It looked like ballet on ice,” Sequeira said. “I mean, not the nicest ballet because there was a fight between life and death there, but it was like ballet on ice.”