One of the most spectacular things that I have witnessed was a bald eagle fishing next to our boat on a lake in California. The eagle would circle and then we would get tired of watching it and the next thing was a loud bang. It was the eagle slapping its wings on the surface of the water.
Dad said that was to stun the fish that was near enough to the surface for the eagle to catch. About half the time the bird would come up out of the water with a fish.
As the eagle lifted off the water, it shook itself just as a wet dog would. Spinning off the excess water and it was not just a little bit of water either. About 15 feet off the surface the shake and rolling took place, it dropped a tiny bit in altitude and then began to climb back into the sky.
It was the impact sound on the water and the shake that I’ll never forget.
Cool.
I bet the water adds weight...makes it harder to take off.