Reader Colin Franks has a complete sequence of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) mating. I now issue a challenge to Stephen Barnard to match or better this series with his own eagle porn. Colin’s notes:
I recently caught something very special with my camera – the entire mating sequence of two adult Bald Eagles! Attached is just a few images (of the 45 total). Sorry for the grid watermark, but image theft is rampant on the ‘net, and these are special.
You can see the rest on the Colin Franks Photography Facebook page.
These of course cry out for anthropomorphizing. I’ve added numbers in case Diana MacPherson (or anyone else) wants to caption these:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Making eaglets!
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Whoa, nice flight feathers!
Is that how one eagle comes onto another?
Wonderful Series Colin.
Chance favors the well prepared, they say.
It certainly can’t hurt having a 600mm lens in your walk around kit; but, then you have to know how to use it. You certainly do. Thanks for posting these.
– evan
Beautiful!
(7 ‘Nnngh’, 8 ‘Ngghhh, 9 ‘Hmmmph’, 10 ‘You mean that’s it?!!)
How . . . salacious.
*Which speed dial number do I have Pat Robertson on?*
Family Values! Watch out for tornadoes!
Yes the fornicating shots are fine, but 11 and 12 are just superb!
Pic #5:
He: Please, honey?
She: *sigh* Ok, if you have to…
Which one is the US congress, and which one is a lobbying group?
“I now issue a challenge to Stephen Barnard to match or better this series with his own eagle porn.”
That’s not going to happen, at least not this year. I’m pretty sure they’ve already mated.
#5
“So what’s your sign???”
Leo, not Pisces!
It’s a shame that Aquila isn’t one of the zodiacal constellations.
#1: “Mah bed post!”
#2: “Now, eagle eyes…”
The first picture: Look at my landing technique and my gorgeous talons. Bathe in my awesomeness!
😀 Good one!
Bald Eagles do have a certain swagger about them, don’t they. But then, how could they not?
This is getting kind of trite, now:
media.airspacemag.com/images/Birds+of+Prey.jpg
WP did not add the necessary https:// this time. Guess that’s only for photos; you’ll have to add it yourselves.
Oops, no “s” needed. I was just looking at the WEIT url while typing.
That’s a funny cartoon.
where’s the post coital cigarette (or ecig)?
I saw a cartoon once of a chicken, smoking a cigarette, lying in bed next to a large egg. The chicken says, “Well, I guess we answered THAT question!”
😀
Hard to smile with a mouth locked in a frown.
Judging from Colin’s reply to Mark at 16, below, I’m doubtful she has anything to smile about.
Wonderful! Fabulous pictures.
Now there’s something you don’t see every day.
So how long did the copulation take? 45 photos taken…hard to judge the time frame.
Thanks for sharing these quality photos!
From landing to take-off it was approximately a minute or two.
Wow…makes it even more special that you got those shots!
It seems odd to me that birds can do it so easily and quickly with those tails in the way.
I can’t fathom that either.
I have a harder time figuring out how my tortoises ever line up right…
Maybe that’s tied to their longevity.
My tortoise was impossible to live with during his tortoise pon farr. He’d climb up on shoes making his clucking sound & if he saw bare feet, would pursue you relentlessly, thinking the big toe was another tortoise.
😀
Our male, when isolated from the female (which was most of the time) would copulate with a rock in his indoor enclosure. We figured it had a lot of similarity to the female–rounded, hard, room-temperature…
(And much more receptive.)
10. What’s for dinner?
Very cool sequence, Colin!
sharing a tree limb
take this spring’s cloacal kiss
life briefly flys by
Eagle pr0n fight.
What could possibly go wrong?
Apart from running out of popcorn.