12 October 2013: Keeping home...

Yes, the parents are definitely back for the new season, though it's late and no sign of an egg yet. Meantime they keep themselves occupied. This last weekend presented some great photo opportunities...

05 October 2013: Back again?

The eagles returned this weekend, entering into a royal battle with the Sparrow Hawks, who conceded the nest with considerable resistance. For hours the hawks, angered at being ejected from their new-found home, repeatedly dive-bombed the eagles - kamakazi style - screaming through the trees just centimetres near the eagles, who in turn flared their plumage in warning. I managed to get just a few presentable pics of the high-speed action...

30 September 2013: A New Season and New Residents

At the beginning of September Esther moved off into the big wide world. Who knows to where? She wears a yellow plastic ring marked C7. Should anyone observe her, do let us know. We miss her! 

For a week, the parents got busy with rebuilding the nest ... and then for some reason seemed to lose interest. Much to our disappointment, they appeared to abandon the idea of breeding this year, and we saw and heard little of them for the the last 3 weeks.

It didn't take long a a pair of Black Sparrow Hawks to move in on the nest, and we resigned ourselves to being entertained by these smaller raptors in place of the eagles for the present. They make for interesting observation themselves. They are extremely swift flyers and for their favourite meal they will chase down a dove in flight - I've seen it myself - quite spectacular!

08 August 2013: Dassie for Breakfast

This update is long overdue!
Esther is nearly 11 months old and grown very nicely into a magnificent young specimen.
She has developed her own hunting skills, becoming less dependent on her parents
- we seldom see them now. 

In the mean time, Esther managed to rip off her yellow plastic ring (C0).
Not to be outdone, erstwhile researcher Shane McPherson returned to fit a new ring (now C7). 

More and more I am getting  reports from our local neighbours of their own observations of Esther, 

and some useful networking is taking place - all in the name of both protecting and enjoying the rare privilege of sharing the Westville woodlands with these splendid creatures.

After not seeing Esther for a few days, I was delighted to capture her eating breakfast...

After her meal, Esther became quite energetic, flitting and hopping about the branches, hanging around upside-down, and generally displaying her satisfaction with life...

22 April 2013: In-flight again

After a couple of days of cold wet weather, signalling autumn, the sky has cleared and Esther is full of fun in the sun again. Here's a photo sequence I managed to capture this morning before heading off to to work...

8 Mar 2013 - Batty

Esther is getting quite adventurous now, spending her days exploring,
gliding tree to tree and flitting among the branches.
She has found a new trick - hanging up-side-down from a branch
and viewing the world beneath from a different perspective.
Apparently this is typical  of a youngster at this age and a useful marker in her development. Great fun... (5MB)

23 Feb 2013 - Wings of eagles

Those amazing wings are still very young - but already quite magnificent...

23 Feb 2013 - Playing with food

Like most young animals, Esther plays with her food while eating. 

Here she is tossing a Dassie head around...(5 MB)

Then Mother arrives to restore a bit of discipline...(4 MB)

03 Feb 2013 - 3 Meals a day

Esther has a voracious appetite - ordering in her meals 3 times a day.
Here the food courier (aka Mother), has just delivered and readies herself to launch for the next hunt...

Esther sometimes bites of more than she can chew...

Actually, this is just the skin and fur left in one piece after she has consumed all the flesh and bone.
Now she attempts to swallow the whole piece at once - not a simple task!
After much effort, she gets it half-way down, finds she can't take in any more, regurgitates it, picks at it a bit, and starts again, repeating the whole process a few times until she finally somehow manages to put it all away.

Satisfied with her accomplishment, she looks around for a suitable perch on which to chill while her digestive system does its work...

Notice how well camouflaged she is up in the gum tree.
She's already thinking about her next meal...

22 Jan 2013 - Flying!

Esther has been flying for about a week now.
Here she is - trying to get a grip of things.

Being a girl - cleaning her toe nails is important ...

26 Dec 2012 - Mistress of the nest

2 weeks after being ringed, Esther has taken charge of the nest.
Though not yet flying, here she sits on high, keenly surveying her all beneath her.