View allAll Photos Tagged birdsofprey
Sitting in a fishing boat, it is a great pleasure to watch eagles and kites pouncing on the fishermen's by-catch... Good to know that these by-catch, wich is useless for the fishermen, also contributes to the conservation of these beautiful birds.
This sparrowhawk holds a special place in our hearts. Born in 2019 she used our garden as a training ground to hone her skills as a first winter juvenile in 2020. She has been frequenting our garden since then. There are more pictures of Brunny's journey to adulthood in the album Four Candles and a Sparrowhawk. The image quality is not great as it was shot from behind dirty windows in fading light!
We expected to find a Peregrine Falcon in this particular tree, but when we got there, we found this Merlin, instead.
Formidable apex aerial predators 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.
November 5, 2025, at ParaÃso Verde, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
The Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) is a medium-sized buteo with a body size from 32 to 44 cm (13 to 17 in) in length. They spend the North American summer in the Eastern United States and in Canada as far west as BC. Once breeding season has completed, Broad-winged Hawks gather in large flocks and migrate south. However, upon arrival in the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela, they disperse, where they perch and forage individually from October to March. Broad-winged Hawks typically reside at elevations of around 2,000 meters; however, they occasionally soar to heights of up to 3,700 meters.
A large raptor around 55-70 cms tall and weighing around 1.5 - 2.4 kg and found throughout the year in India. They are probably the smallest of the 9 species of vultures found in India. The birds are very distinctive and easily recognizable unlike some of the other vultures which are confusing to id.
This one is an adult with the full white plumage and yellowish face and beak. Immatures tend to be totally brown with a greyish face. The birds are often seen around carcass dumpyards or in the deserts where dead cattle / animals are lying rotten. In our Rajasthan trip last week, we sighted 100+ of them all around the state - they are quite common there. In fact, Rajasthan has 7 of the 9 vultures found in India. Like most vultures, this is quite shy of people, but many a time, we found very close to the nomad settlements perched on the poles or walking around on the ground.
Thanks in advance for your lovely feedback and views - much appreciated.
A large falcon that is endemic to South Asia including parts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is as large as a Peregine Falcon and taller than Saker Falcon, but more leaner unlike the bulky build of Saker Falcon or Peregrine Falcon. We sighted them on two days in action - they were hunting in the area and one of them was fighting with the Saker Falcon.
The 2nd day, we sighted 3 of them - most likely a family and this one is the immature one judging by the size and plumage. The adult - likely a female was teaching the bird how to hunt and they both stuck together for almost an hour or more after which they disappeared together.
This immature one tried to hunt on its own, but wasn't successful, so it landed back on this perch briefly. The fog was so thick and heavy that it was challenging to shoot. We enjoyed the experience of watching them in action though.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback - very much appreciated.
Also known as Little Banded Goshawk, this is a medium sized ferocious raptor that attacks smaller birds in their nests and deep inside canopy. This raptor is very patient and will wait for the right moment to strike. Often they attack the chicks in the nests, or even the parents. The birds are common in the countryside and seen a lot, but hard to get a decent shot.
On this day, I sighted this bird waiting on a roadside bush early morning. It was trying to catch a sunbird I think, but was not successful. And shortly afterwards, it flew to a tree to the left of this wall and tried to catch an Iora, but was not successful either. The Common Iora took off deeper into the tree before the Shikra could get it. It tried a few tactics to get the Iora out, but wasn't successful and the Iora disappeared from view. The Shikra then landed on this wall probably to figure where else to hunt when we took the shot.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback Much appreciated.
A resident eagle of the country though migratory in several other countries. The bird is named after its short toe as well its preference for eating snakes. These are large eagles, maybe around 60 cms+ tall and one of the few large eagles I know that hover in the air much like a Kestrel.
These birds roost on top of trees for the night and then wait for the hot sun to come up. They rely on the thermals and hot air to get higher in the air without expending too much energy. But when there are cloudy or rainy days, they prefer to roost / rest as long as they can like this in quiet places around the grasslands. Sometimes if we are lucky - this happens often with this eagle - they are found sitting on the ground with one leg up!
On this day, the weather was rainy and foggy, and we found the Eagle roosting on poles like this one. Soon after, there was a heavy downpour as well. This poor bird had to wait for a long time to see some action I suppose.
Thanks so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
A majestic and powerful eagle and maybe the largest raptor found in the country. A full grown adult eagle is around 80-90 cms tall with a wingspan of around ~6-8 feet. These weigh around 3-4.5 kgs - roughly 50-60% heavier than a Greater Spotted Eagle which is the common large raptor we see in our state..
During our recent Desert national Park trip, we sighted many of them all over the national park - they were just sitting on the ground alone and a few times in a group. On this day, we sighted 3 of them together with 2 Griffon vultures behind them - it was an awesome sight for me. All of these were impressive sized raptors - majestic, fearless and with a muscular / bouncer kind of look.
The birds probably had roosted the whole night in the open ground. They are hunters, but mostly scavengers and sometimes claim kill from other birds like the Falcons, harriers etc.. They also hunt reptiles, mammals like Fox, the young ones of Deer/ Antelopes, Ducks and Geese all of which are found in the desert.
These are national birds of Kazakhstan and are migratory to India during winters. They are very rare in my state, but common in the place I visited.
Thanks in advance for your wonderful feedback and likes.
A large bird of prey that has an extensive range stretching from South Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, parts of South Asia and throughout South East, North Asia and Russia. It is large dark colored Eagle and larger most other Eagles in India (Except for the Golden eagle maybe).
They measure about 80-90 cms with a wingspan of 5-5-7.5 feet and weigh about 3.5 - 4.5 Kg. The bird is an opportunistic predator and our guide informed us that this raptor often claims prey from other raptors like the Falcon. It hunts waterbirds, reptiles like the Monitor / Spiny lizards and there is a recent picture of it hunting a fox as well.
We sighted several Imperial Eagles roosting in the desert in sighted a few of them later in the day flying in circles probably targeting some prey. The area has a big population of desert rat which many of these raptors target.
Thank you very much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.
During our visit to the Desert National Park, sighted several Common Kestrels quite active and hunting in the desert. These are visitors from Central Asia / Europe and migrate around End-September to our state, much earlier than all the other raptor migrants. This is a medium sized bird and prefers grassland / desert habitats where it hunts for small reptiles and birds like pipits, larks and quails.
This is a female, sub-adult judging by the size and plumage. She was resting on the ground when she sighted a Harrier in the distance. The Kestrel carefully watched the Harrier fly away before it tried to hunt nearby, but wasn't successful.
Thanks in advance for the views and feedback - very much appreciated.
180216IMG_049122-This is the tiny predator that caused such big commotion among the little birds in my backyard the other day...