I've observed some unusual animal behaviors that need to be put together and recorded.

One day aboard the USS Banner, while at sea, someone called our attention to a strange black line on the ocean that stretched from horizon to horizon. We all went topside, leaned over the rail, and watched. We couldn't imagine what it was. A long, black line like that didn't belong out there on the ocean.

After a while it became apparent that we were sailing toward the line, and that the line was moving toward us. More minutes passed, and then we could see movement within the line. Black objects would erupt from the line, and then blend back in. The line eventually became a many-miles-long string of dolphins perhaps 30 or 50 feet wide. There were many thousands of them. As they swam, individual dolphins would leap high into the air and gracefully fall back into the formation. As the ship sailed through the line, dolphins on each side of us leaped as high as they could and surveyed the ship before diving back into the water. The dolphins were as curious about us as we were about them. It was a wonderful sight that I was very grateful to have been able to witness.

Another such episode involved antelope. I was helping a friend with his farm work. I was driving a tractor north of the town of North Powder. I don't recall what it was that I was doing, but I was going round and round the big field. A large herd of antelope appeared. They were running. They were running at top speed. They made a big circle perhaps over an eighth of a mile in diameter around my tractor. They went around and around me several times before their leader led them elsewhere. I think they were curious about the tractor. They circled and surveyed me perhaps three times before their curiosity was satisfied. I was grateful to have been able to see that magnificent sight, too.

The third event involved bald eagles. I was driving past the Brazofsky house two miles east of ours. In the field east of the Brazofsky house was a perfect circle of eagles. They were standing on the ground facing one another in a circle that was probably 50 feet in diameter. I imagined that they were having a meeting. It was early in the morning, and I imagined that they were determining where each would work in the valley that day. Area assignments were being made. There were perhaps 30 eagles. Half of them had white heads and white tail feathers. They were the adults. The other half were black. They were the juveniles, less than five years old.

These were wonderful sights of which I wish I had pictures, but of course I had no camera in those crucial moments with which to record the sights. These were once in a lifetime opportunities to observe some of nature's wonders.