One photo today, and of course it’s from Stephen Barnard, who’s monitoring a pair of eagles (with at least two chicks) near his place in Idaho. I think that this is one of the best bird photos he’s sent (click to enlarge). Look at this primaries!
His caption:
One brought a fish to the nest and the other landed a few seconds later.
The female brought the fish and the male showed up empty taloned. Typical! 🙂
I know some of it’s perspective, but, still, the curves and the graceful contortion of the wings is almost unreal.
It’s a shame the terrain isn’t such that you’ve got a clear view down into the nest from above. I’m sure there’s much worth shooting from such an angle.
b&
He’s putting on the brakes. The adults are very careful not to injure the eaglets when landing. I missed the female bringing the fish because I was framed too high. They land by approaching from below the nest and then swooping up, using gravity to slow them down.
It’s a gorgeous photo!
Clever bird….
b&
These big open raptor nests always amaze me. Their eggs take longer to hatch and their chicks much longer to fledge than smaller birds, and throughout chicks and parents are so exposed to the elements. While a passerine’s young might fledge in 2 weeks, and eagle’s can take 12.