On the 31st of December I was traveling north on the Transpeninsular Highway, having toured the Baja California peninsula with my family. Near Punta Prieta, I noticed a large bird feeding on something in the road.

“A vulture,” I said.

“No, it’s not a vulture,” my wife corrected me. ” Turn back!”.

We took a U-turn and returned to the road, now heading south. As we got closer, we recognised a silhouette very different from that of a vulture. To our surprise, we realized that the majestic animal that took flight when it saw us was, no more and no less, a Golden Eagle.

Never in my 40 years of traveling around the peninsula had I seen the iconic bird of our national emblem. The eagle flew up from the road to a nearby cardon, not far from where I had parked to admire it at close quarters. Unfazed, the eagle allowed me to set up my camera and capture an unexpected series of images that became a special New Year’s Eve gift from the Baja desert.

The eagle’s prey turned out to be a small coyote that showed no signs of having been run over. It had already been eaten in the back half and its skeleton was almost clean. So I dragged the coyote off the road to prevent a vehicle running over the eagle when it returned to finish its meal. From the top of the cardon, the eagle seemed to be waiting impatiently for me to continue my journey.

That will forever be my own “Golden Eagle Day”.  

Author: Gustavo D. Danemann, Executive Director, Pronatura Noroeste.