There's something unique about watching raptors. The aura around them immediately makes you feel something special is going on. From the smallest falcon to the largest eagle or vulture, I always get excited when I see them overhead. Or just standing there. This post is dedicated to the raptors I had the pleasure of observing in the last few weeks.
To start some pictures of a pair of young Black-Winged Kites engaged in an aerial fight:
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| Aerial Fight between two Black-Winged Kites |
These beautiful raptors are relatively small, but also very aggressive. The red eyes combined with the stark black and white colors give them a fighter-jet like appearance, and they certainly behave that way!
From a bit closer, your can see the beauty of this raptor with more detail:
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| Black-Winged Kite in flight |
Speaking of their aggressive behavior, below are some photos of the Black-Winged Kite driving off an Osprey, which is a much larger raptor. The Osprey was standing on a pole that the Kite perceived as his own - he usually stands there. You can see the huge contrast in sizes...
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| Osprey being attacked by Black-Winged Kite |
Ospreys are incredible to watch. They're excellent fish catchers, grabbing fish out of the water with their claws. Then they find a quiet spot to eat the fish:
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| Osprey with catch |
When done, they have time to contemplate their next move:
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| Osprey observing a flock of Glossy Ibises flying by |
An even larger raptor is the Large Spotted Eagle, which I was very lucky to observe the other day.
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| Large Spotted Eagle in flight |
This young specimen was standing on a wire so I could see the full size of him - his wingspan is close to 2 meters! What an impressive sight to see him flying. I recommend enlarging the pictures - it's a treat.
We were vising Eilat a few weeks ago, and on the way back home, in the Negev, we had a chance to see an even larger raptor, one of the largest in Israel:
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| Griffon Vulture in flight |
This huge (wingspan of over 2.5 meters) raptor is majestic in flight. An amazing sight...
There were also a couple of Eagles there:
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| Two Eagles in flight |
And with that, I'll wrap up this post. More raptors to come in the near future.
Let me know what you think in the comments or via email.