EAGLES, EAGLES, EAGLES or THE GLORIOUS 8TH of APRIL

Wedge-tailed Eagle

A farmer-friend from Thuddungra had mentioned Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) on his property several times - as many as 16 of them there at one time!

Finally - after a prompting phone call from him the previous evening - on what turned out to be The Glorious 8th of April, I ventured out to his farm in the morning, armed with my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm lens. Little did I know what was in store.

Upon arrival at the property and after locating my friend, working in a paddock, he directed me to another paddock, where his ewes were lambing. After arriving at the location (in my car), I saw 2 eagles on the ground, making short work of a couple of the ewes' placentas, so this was the first shot I took and, as with all images on this blog, they are thumbnails, so just click on any image to see a larger version:

Wedge-tailed Eagle with placenta

This was taken from inside my car and from approximately 63 metres away, so, of course, I tried to get closer for a better shot but he and his mate (out of shot) flew off. They headed for a small group of trees some distance behind me but still in the same paddock. One of them even alighted on a dead branch!

Well, there was nothing else for it but to swing the car around and head towards the spot - slowly. Fortunately, I was able to get close enough to take 14 shots of the one bird in the 50 or so seconds that he allowed me, before he took off again. According to the Raw data in the image files, these shots were taken while I was less than 26 metres from the eagle. I ended up with several special shots but here are the 10 best, in chronological order.

I'm sorry about the added watermark but I have to try and protect my work.

If you are interested in obtaining either a hard copy (print) or an original-sized digital file (5184x3456 pixels) - without the watermark of course - please leave a comment below and include your email address.

You will notice that, as the images progress, so the eagle moves closer and closer to the end of the dead branch, until he finally flies off.

For those who aren't aware, the golden colour at the neck indicates that this is a juvenile bird.

It was a really magical experience, I can tell you!