Unhappy Bateleur pair

[Carl Walker]

On my last trip to the Kruger National park I was on a quest to find owls among other things. One morning I found a pair of V. Eagle owls in a tree alongside a dry riverbed and next to another tree with a pair of nesting Bateleur eagles that were absent at the time. On my way back in the afternoon I passed through the same area to revisit the owls. When I reached the spot I found utter chaos.
The owls had decided to perch in the nesting eagles tree and were uttering their pig like grunting calls whilst the eagles screamed back at them from their nest. Suddenly all **** broke loose as the female Bateleur jumped down onto the one owl below her. Now there were 4 birds flying around the tree in a form of arial combat until the eagles flew off to a tree nearby. It all happened so fast that I was not prepared for it until it was all over. I was really intrigued by the owl's tenacity during this amazing interaction.

Canon 1D MK 4, Canon 300 f2.8, 2 X extender
ISO 800, f8, 1/1250 sec

PP work in LR and PSE
I had to clone a dry tree trunk out in front of the birds that was spoiling the image
Levels, USM
I had some difficulty with the whites and blacks. Will wait for any C&C re this. Thanks

[Martin Dunn]

My favourite eagle, and you got 2 of them.
That must have been a spectacle worth seeing Carl.
Your bateleurs are exposed really well with the plumage colours showing nicely.
The sense of drama is strong - and with your background story - understandable.

[Markus Jais]

Fantastic shot with great behavior and interaction. The open bills show their excitement.

Markus

[gail bisson]

Hi Carl,
What a great story and how wonderful to watch it all unfold before you.
Light, IQ, BG and perch are very good.
My only nit is that I wish for a bit more separation between the eagles- especially the beak of the rear eagle.
Your whites and blacks look really good,
Gail

[hennieloots]

Hi Carl - Great sighting and great image. I really appreciate the colors and particularly how you maintained the black and whire, as well as the red on the beaks and feet. I agree with gail on the seperation, but that's just greedy! Excellent image and TFS the story.
Regards
Hennie

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Carl - great story and you did well to capture any images, especially sharp ones, considering the excitement. Well done. Additional separation between the two eagles would have taken this over the top but still an excellent image.

TFS,
Rachel