Friday, February 27, 2009

White-breasted Sea-Eagle

The other day at Inskip Point I watched the White-breasted Sea-Eagle in action. It was sitting in a tree at the edge of the sand when I first saw it. I took my eyes off it for one moment to look more carefully at the puddles I was crossing and when I looked back it was gone. Then I saw that it had swooped down into a near-by stretch of deeper water and caught a fish. It then flew back into the trees to eat. I walked slowly up to the trees and looked back to where the eagle had caught the fish. It was several hundred meters away and looking into the sun. The water to my eyes was just a glittering surface of silver. What amazing eye-sight these birds have! I walked slowly up under the trees where the eagle was eating the fish and it took no notice of me. It looked up every now and again but its attention was focused on the sky around it rather than the ground where I stood. It took some time to eat the fish and appeared to tear off quite small pieces at a time. When it had finished it flew off through the trees and out to the open water in the channel.
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21 comments:

  1. Tyto TonyFebruary 27, 2009 at 7:36 AM

    Good catch! Bird obviously didn't feel like sharing the feast. Not unusual. Raptors strong supporters of 'every-bird-for-itself'.

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  2. mickFebruary 27, 2009 at 8:50 AM

    Hi Tony, I am wondering if the eagle has chased off the ospreys that are usually out there - haven't seen them recently.

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  3. tilcheffFebruary 27, 2009 at 5:18 PM

    Look at those claws!
    Thanks for great shots, Mick! Love the amount of detail visible in the last image.

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  4. Tyto TonyFebruary 27, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    Never seen much conflict between the species, possibly because Ospreys plunge deeper for live fish and WBSeagles would just as soon scavenge. The heavy rains and silted cloudy coastal outpourings at river mouths may have pushed Ospreys elsewhere.

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  5. tilcheffFebruary 27, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    Oh... and very nice bokeh of the Sigma lens too!

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  6. mickFebruary 27, 2009 at 5:34 PM

    Hi Tony, thanks for the info. re the ospreys and eagles. I didn't know that about their diving habits so maybe I shall find the ospreys elsewhere when I can get out in the kayak again.

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  7. mickFebruary 27, 2009 at 5:39 PM

    Thanks for your comments Tilcheff. I have lots to learn about the camera - and the lens to - but I am now getting some photos that I am pleased with and also getting lots of nice detail in the birds I photograph.

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  8. Denis WilsonFebruary 27, 2009 at 7:22 PM

    Hi Mick
    Your Sea Eagle obviously likes you.
    The third shot, with the fish tail is great, In my opinion.
    A "fishy" person could tell what type of fish it was, from that image.
    Cheers
    Denis

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  9. mickFebruary 27, 2009 at 7:57 PM

    Hi Denis. Thanks for your comments. I'm not a 'fishy' person! I wish some person reading the post was and could suggest what it might be!

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  10. Wai YienFebruary 27, 2009 at 9:32 PM

    beautifully done

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  11. BirdingMaineFebruary 27, 2009 at 10:52 PM

    WOW! What a beautiful Eagle and sweet photos of it!

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  12. mickFebruary 28, 2009 at 3:45 AM

    Thanks BirdingMaine and Yen

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  13. LarryFebruary 28, 2009 at 3:55 PM

    Awesome capture Mick! What a gorgeous bird and I love the series showing it's feeding behavior.

    I don't know but if that fish was in the US it looks like a trout to me.

    Super shots!

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  14. mickFebruary 28, 2009 at 6:00 PM

    Thanks for your comments Larry. Its quite a thrill when you can get as close as that to a big bird - and have it ignore you and go about its own business.

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2009 at 9:07 PM

    Beautiful series of photos Mick. Good comments from Tony re the feeding habits. We have friends with a fish farm who don't mind the WB Sea Eagle feeding on their ponds as it takes any dead or sickly looking fish. They did mention that the presence of the WB Sea Eagle seemed to keep the Osprey away but perhaps this was due to the relatively confined environment. Both species are to be found along the Daintree River.

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  16. GouldiaeMarch 1, 2009 at 5:53 AM

    G'day Mick,
    Great series of shots. Very enjoyable - thanks.
    Gouldiae

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  17. mickMarch 1, 2009 at 7:08 AM

    Hi Swampythings - thanks for your comments and its very interesting to have the extra information from you and Tony about the habits of the WB Sea-Eagle. None of my books are detailed enough and I appreciate your comments from your own observation and experience.

    Hi Gouldiae, glad you enjoyed the photos. I've watched these birds high overhead for years but never got this close before.

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  18. Tricia RyderMarch 1, 2009 at 7:57 AM

    WOW - I've yet to see an Eagle in the wild!

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  19. mickMarch 1, 2009 at 2:14 PM

    Hi Tricia, it was a magnificent bird!

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  20. VickieMarch 3, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    What an awesome experience. An incredible opportunity to watch and photograph the eagle's behavior. Beautiful bird. Hope you get to see more of him.

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  21. mickMarch 3, 2009 at 12:52 PM

    Hi Vickie, it will be interesting to see how long it stays around in the same area.

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