A Greater Spotted Eagle in flight over the hunting grounds
Formidable apex predators of the sky and winter migrants to South Asia. These are large birds of prey with a range much of Europe and Asia. Almost 70 cm in height and around 2-2.5 kgs in weight, this is a large eagle. Like every other large eagles, this too is a sluggish hunter that tries to conserve its energy while hunting.
Shot this in the Nilgiri's forest (on a 4 day trip) - a large Mega reserve of Tigers, Elephants, Bears, Leopards, Hyenas and other animals. Its a thick forest and one that has plenty of reports of human / animal conflict. Walking around for birds is a scary challenge. We shot this bird near a dumpyard where there were several species of Eagles - around 20-25 of them and another 10-20 Kites. The light was great and the setting beautiful. But our guide was nervous about straying far away from the vehicle since it is a tiger area and tigers are frequently sighted there.
There were about 8-10 of these GSE's perched on trees for a long time in the morning fog before we saw some action. And they continued to sit still after this brief action. As the day became too hot and light was harsh, we moved on.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback. Very much appreciated.
A Greater Spotted Eagle in flight over the hunting grounds
Formidable apex predators of the sky and winter migrants to South Asia. These are large birds of prey with a range much of Europe and Asia. Almost 70 cm in height and around 2-2.5 kgs in weight, this is a large eagle. Like every other large eagles, this too is a sluggish hunter that tries to conserve its energy while hunting.
Shot this in the Nilgiri's forest (on a 4 day trip) - a large Mega reserve of Tigers, Elephants, Bears, Leopards, Hyenas and other animals. Its a thick forest and one that has plenty of reports of human / animal conflict. Walking around for birds is a scary challenge. We shot this bird near a dumpyard where there were several species of Eagles - around 20-25 of them and another 10-20 Kites. The light was great and the setting beautiful. But our guide was nervous about straying far away from the vehicle since it is a tiger area and tigers are frequently sighted there.
There were about 8-10 of these GSE's perched on trees for a long time in the morning fog before we saw some action. And they continued to sit still after this brief action. As the day became too hot and light was harsh, we moved on.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback. Very much appreciated.