My lucky pic today.... must see

[cyprusmax47]

Was out today collecting minerals (fossils) for a future Blog when I saw two eagles in the air. As I had my camera with me I tried to do a photo of them without success as they were very high up the sky. After some minutes they were landing on a huge rock ca 2 km away. So I was laying the camera on the roof of my car while the engine was still running and did some shots with max zoom. Through the monitor of the camera I could see only the large rock with something very small on it. When I came back home I forgot about the pics as I thought they were not very good hence the large distance. But as a pleasant surprise when I uploaded the todays pics on my album I realized that this couple of ........( eagles) was quite nice and I think rare. Anybody knows which birds are on the photo?



Max

[ApusApus]

Sorry Max they are common, a couple of Bonelli's Eagles ........
probably juveniles venturing out on their travels!


Shane

[cyprusmax47]

Sorry Max they are common, a couple of Bonelli's Eagles ........
probably juveniles venturing out on their travels!


Shane

Thank you Shane for the identification. Sorry but YOU are wrong as this birds are rare in Cyprus. Maybe you are interested to watch the video...
http://tetraktysfilms.com/product/at-th ... s-eagle-2/

Max

[PaphosAL]

Or they could be a mating pair of Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer), judging by their white front plumage? You judge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonelli%27s_eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Fish_Eagle

Both links are self-explanatory and accredited to Wikipedia, to protect Dom's copywrite concerns!

A very nice shot, Max, under extreme photographic circumstances! They are definately not Red Kites, that I can assure you. So that takes one species out of the equation, LOL!

Nice video link as well, thank you!

Cheers- AL

[Dominic]

Links aren't affected by copyright law. You can post them with gay abandon.

Here is another.

http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/wildlife/wild ... 0paper.pdf

Admitedly, it is 7 years out of date,but it lists the breeding pairs in Cyprus as under 40, which is quite rare to me.

[PaphosAL]

A fascinating link to read thanks, Dom! Cheers- AL

[ApusApus]

Thank you Shane for the identification. Sorry but YOU are wrong as this birds are rare in Cyprus. Maybe you are interested to watch the video...
http://tetraktysfilms.com/product/at-th ... s-eagle-2/

Max

Trust me they are Bonelli's Eagles & they are common, in fact they are the only resident breeding eagle on the island! There are not large numbers of these birds around because they hold vast territories & are the top bird preditor here but I can name several places where you are likely to see them. There are other eagles like Booted & Lesser Spotted but these are classed as passing migrants & these ones are rare.


Shane

[ApusApus]

Or they could be a mating pair of Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer), judging by their white front plumage? You judge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonelli%27s_eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Fish_Eagle

Both links are self-explanatory and accredited to Wikipedia, to protect Dom's copywrite concerns!

A very nice shot, Max, under extreme photographic circumstances! They are definately not Red Kites, that I can assure you. So that takes one species out of the equation, LOL!

Nice video link as well, thank you!

Cheers- AL

You don't get Fish Eagles in Cyprus AL


Shane

[cyprusmax47]

Links aren't affected by copyright law. You can post them with gay abandon.

Here is another.

http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/wildlife/wild ... 0paper.pdf

Admitedly, it is 7 years out of date,but it lists the breeding pairs in Cyprus as under 40, which is quite rare to me.

Article in the CMail from 2015 mentions: "According to Nick Kasinis, a senior Game and Wildlife Officer, the Bonelli’s eagle is a species under threat in Cyprus. The eagles, a mature female and an immature male aged around one and a half years old, were found in separate locations close to Stroumpi village in Paphos." Full article: http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/03/03/injur ... dlife-day/

Max

[LouiseCastricum]

Lovely pics Max. Thanks for sharing. Your post reminded me of a song Fly Like an Eagle by The Steve Miller Band. Long time ago that I heard it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlAlCmqjRug

[cyprusmax47]

Lovely pics Max. Thanks for sharing. Your post reminded me of a song Fly Like an Eagle by The Steve Miller Band. Long time ago that I heard it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlAlCmqjRug

Thank's Louise, long time ago does'nt matter, it is still nice. Not too far from the topic: THE EAGLES with a fantastic concert couple of years ago and one of my favorite songs: Hotel California..

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... ction=view

[cyprusmax47]

Here a close up of the pic even when it is very blurred....it was the first time I managed to do a photo from a Eagle couple, not flying but perhaps near their nesting place...(behind?)



Max

[ApusApus]

Links aren't affected by copyright law. You can post them with gay abandon.

Here is another.

http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/wildlife/wild ... 0paper.pdf

Admitedly, it is 7 years out of date,but it lists the breeding pairs in Cyprus as under 40, which is quite rare to me.

Article in the CMail from 2015 mentions: "According to Nick Kasinis, a senior Game and Wildlife Officer, the Bonelli’s eagle is a species under threat in Cyprus. The eagles, a mature female and an immature male aged around one and a half years old, were found in separate locations close to Stroumpi village in Paphos." Full article: http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/03/03/injur ... dlife-day/

Max

"Under threat" & "rare" in birding terms have totally different meanings! A large number of bird species are under threat for a variety of reasons, eg habitat loss, hunting, disturbance by man, etc, & several species have undergone dramatic declines in the last 30/40 years. The thing to remember is that an island like Cyprus can only support a certain number of breeding pairs of a top line predator like an eagle. Bonelli's eagles are generally confined to the western side of the island so 40 pairs doesn't seem that low a number especially considering the huge range that one pair will control. Don't get me wrong, I would love there to be more pairs around but I fear that in 20/25 years it will be going the opposite way & then they will start to become rare!


Shane

[Dominic]

Rare or not, it's still a great opportune photo

I agree, and it is certainly the first time a picture of a pair has been posted here.

[cyprusmax47]

Rare or not, it's still a great opportune photo

I agree, and it is certainly the first time a picture of a pair has been posted here.

A picture with a pair of Bonelli's Eagles in the open countryside in Cyprus, sitting together on a rock, was not posted only on PL but also if you surf the Internet you can't find anything. So I am very pleased with my pic must say...
Max

[Royal]

A picture with a pair of Bonelli's Eagles in the open countryside in Cyprus, sitting together on a rock, was not posted only on PL but also if you surf the Internet you can't find anything. So I am very pleased with my pic must say...
Max

Great pic!

You may well see it reproduced one day on 'In-Cyprus' without your permission if they ever do an article on Bonelli's Eagles. They tend not to worry about intellectual property ownership.

[PolemIan]

Bonellis Eagles. Thanks for that, have often wondered as i sometimes see one flying around the vineyards around our house between Polemi & Stroumbi. Usually referred to as "look, there's the big eagly thing" !!

Ian

[Ams]

It's a great pic, Max, you must be so happy with it - and to have seen it in the first place. I know I would have been very excited if that was me. I've not seen any eagles here, but hopefully one day.

[Royal]

...a couple of Bonelli's Eagles ........probably juveniles venturing out on their travels!

Shane

Could they be a breeding pair?

[ApusApus]

I wasn't sure so I took the liberty of posting the photo on an international birding forum that I belong to. The general consensus is that they are a pair, male on the left & female on the right so congratulations Max, I'm a bit envious as I've only seen them singularly.


Shane