On August 6, a bald eagle near Boulder, Colorado was perched on a dead branch, keeping a close eye on a red-tailed hawk near the eagle’s nest. The eaglets had already fledged and left, but eagles often reuse their nests, so the bald eagle was monitoring the intrusion on its territory.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning caused the nest to explode in a fireball. A wildlife cam stationed 450m away caught the rare event. The electricity stunned both the unseen hawk near the nest and the eagle, which dangled upside-down for several minutes. Then, incredibly, it recovered and flew away. No word on the hawk, which had chosen a bad time to investigate the nest and was likely fried.
Since then, local volunteers have spotted the eagle and her partner looking for a new nest site in the neighborhood. Officials have closed a nearby trail until they are done.
Check out the explosion below. The hawk is not clearly visible, and the video ends before the stunned eagle recovers and flies away.
