Regal Eagle

 This is an African Fish Eagle, this species of eagle lives in Africa and feeds on fish, in case that needed clarification :)

Its range is across sub Saharan Africa wherever there are large bodies of open water. It is the national bird of Namibia and Zambia.

From the first picture as it launches itself from the tree it is quite deceptive in that this is a really large bird, with a wingspan of up to 2.8m (9 feet) it is incredible that it is so manoeuvrable is such a tight space. Once in flight it is agile and graceful and a really beautiful sight. At one point during the display it swooped between myself and my mum, its wings tucked in with mere millimetres from each of our heads.

At rest on a post having snacked on a dead chick it struck a fantastic pose and fixed me with an intense stare as I looked at it through my camera's lens.

My favourite images are the second and fourth. On the second one as well as converting it to black and white which works really well I have tried out the newest update to the masking tool in Adobe Lightroom, this is not something I have tried before and I am really happy with the result. It is now in my list of all time favourite pictures.

Lanner Falcon

 This is such a stunning looking bird, so perfectly adapted to make it a deadly hunter. It feeds of small birds and bats, it will fly to about 3000' and then stoop at high speed to snatch its prey on the wing. 

They are so effective as hunters that they are popular in falconry and are bred in captivity. One bird recently sold for over $70,000 dollars.

Cat Face

 This selection of pictures are of a Eurasian Eagle Owl. This is the UK's largest species of owl and it is really quite magnificent. They were almost extinct in the UK now so long ago apart from those birds in private collections but in recent years there has been an increase in their numbers. This increase has received a mixed reception because they will take other birds of prey as part of their diet, including other endangered species so the conservation programme has to be carefully managed.

I think they are really splendid birds and I have been lucky enough to see one in the wild, it was a visitor at Burton Mere Wetlands a few years ago and it attracted a large number of twitchers  who were all lined up in the hope pf catching a glimpse.

I think there is something feline about these birds, at least in the shape of the face especially in flight, what do you think???

Patience My A***

 This is a rather fine specimen of a Griffon Vulture, or Eurasian Griffon which is found in southern Europe and across Asia. They can grow up to 122cm tall with a wingspan up to 2.8m so quite a formidable bird. I remember watching a vulture in a zoo ripping apart a goats leg, stripping the tendons away from the bone, it was really impressive to see the power in its claws and beak.

I like the watchful pose of this bird, hunched as if ready to launch into the air and catch some thermals in search of the next meal.

It reminded me of a picture on a t-shirt I saw many many years ago that had two vultures sitting in a tree surveying the dry landscape, they were scrawny and obviously very hungry and one was saying to the other "Patience my ass, I'm going to kill something".

This one won't have to worry about its next meal as it is resident at the National Centre for Birds of Prey at Helmsley where it obviously receives excellent care.