A Booted Eagle goes Hunting
I was out at the house/building site yesterday and as I was watching the workmen skimming walls with cement something far more exciting was happening 50 metres away over the park. Now, I didn’t have my big camera with me so these shots are from my archives but let me describe the scene.
The sky over the village and park was full of swallows, martins and swifts with a few pigeons and doves here and there. Suddenly all the swallows were shrieking and flying very quickly for cover…and no wonder…a light morph Booted Eagle was flying just over the treetops looking for an afternoon snack.
Every now and again it would fold back its wings and swiftly drop towards some would be prey. Both myself and the workmen thoroughly enjoyed watching this stooping display for the next 5 minutes from the garden of the house until the eagle moved off towards the other end of the village park out of sight.
Booted Eagles are a commonly sighted bird in this area and this year in Picón I have been seeing them regularly. Last year a pair were nesting a little further down the Guadiana on top of a pylon.
Booted Eagle Colour Morphs and ID
There are two morphs of the Booted Eagle with regards to their colour – the light or pale morph and the less common dark morph. In both morphs the upper plumage is the same. The difference is in the underside plumage. The pale morph is the photo above and below is an example of the dark morph. Due to its size it can easily be confused with the Common Buzzard but the buzzard lacks the sharp underside contrasts and also has dark carpal patches.
When seen flying towards you head on, you can see two white spots on the leading edge of the base of the wings on most birds.
As I previously mentioned, the upper parts are the same for both morphs as in the following shot.
It really is great to be able to see such majestic birds hunting and especially when literally in our backyard. I know if I was a birder and I was staying in our house I’d be out onto the street in seconds with my camera. I really should always have mine with me. So you see, you really won’t have to go too far sometimes to see great birds if you stay at the future Casa Oretani. Contact us now and let Oretani Wildlife offer you some of the best birding in Spain right from the doorstep.
