I actually saw a bald eagle try to get a loon chick once. Mom and dad loon knew the eagle was nearby, so they were trying to be vigilant. But the eagle waited

I actually saw a bald eagle try to get a loon chick once. Mom and dad loon knew the eagle was nearby, so they were trying to be vigilant. But the eagle waited until dad loon was underwater looking for food, and it took off from a tree across the pond and came in fast and low. Momma loon raised a huge racket, whooping and trilling, and put herself right between the eagle and the baby, in a display of incredible bravery, because the eagle looked about twice her size. She spread out her wings as far as she could to make herself look bigger. But the eagle swooped in, and she didn’t back down, and the eagle slammed into her, but it came away without the chick. After that, dad loon came up and saw what was going on and they both stayed right next to the chick for the next couple days. As far as I know the chick made it. It was an amazing thing to see. Loons reproduce slowly, laying one or two eggs every year, and only one year out of 2 does a chick make it. So they put a lot of effort into protecting the chick. You don’t usually think about animals being capable of self sacrifice and bravery, but if that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is..