The African Crowned Eagle ( Stephanoaetus coronatus ) is one of the most powerful raptors in Africa. Like most woodland raptors it has relatively short and broad wings, similar to a Goshawk. But the eagle is much bigger and more powerful than the Goshawk. Some consider it the African equivalent to the Harpy Eagle ( Harpia harpyja ) of Central and South America. But those two species are not closely related.
Here is an amazing video from National Geographic showing the (unsuccessful) attempt of an African Crowned Eagle to catch a Water Chevrotain ( Hyemoschus aquaticus ).
The White-tailed Eagle has a wingspan up to 245cm (the females) and is even a little bigger than the Golden Eagle. Once close to extinction in many European countries, the White-tailed Ealge has made a phenomenal comeback and populations have increased in many countries including Norway, Germany or Poland.
It’s a website dedicated to the Short-toed Eagle, a very interesting bird of prey of Europe, Asia and Africa who feeds mostly on snakes and other reptiles.
I saw my first Short-toed Eagle in March 2006 in Monfragüe, Spain. Once I saw one swallowing a snake. That was an amazing experience. It is a very beautiful eagle with a huge head compared to the size of it’s body. It’s huge eyes almost give the bird an owl like appearance.
The White-tailed Eagle goes from strength to strength in Germany. In 2006 about 530 breeding pairs were recorded in Germany. This year is even better. The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Birdlife Germany) just announced that in 2007 about 575 pairs were recorded. This is another increase and the highest population in Germany since many decades.
The White-tailed Eagle is my favorite bird. I hope that the German population reaches 1.000 pairs in the future. So far it looks very good.
The Golden Eagle is one of the most spectacular birds in the Northern Hemisphere. I always enjoy watching them and I am actively involved in a Golden Eagle conservation project in Bavaria.
I’ve written down some tips on how to improve your chances of seeing that amazing bird.
Best time of the day is usually late morning to late afternoon. Early in the morning is not so good, as there are no thermals yet. But the eagles may be hunting in the morning. If you have time, get up early.
Courtship displays are best viewed from December to March. That depends on where you are. In more northern countries the courtship seasons starts later. The Golden Eagle’s undulating flight can also be seen outside of the months just mentioned but normally not that frequently
If you are in a mountainous area, search the edge of the mountains against the blue sky or white clouds. In front of dark mountains, it’s hard to find the birds, but against the blue sky or white clouds it’s much easier.
Take your spotting scope with you. The eagles or often far away and you might need a spotting scope to identify them.
Learn all you can about the Common Buzzard and other raptors that can be confused with the eagles
When you don’t have a direct comparison with another bird or something familiar, do not rely on the size of the bird alone. It’s hard or impossible to judge the size of distant birds without something to compare them with.
Watch the crows and ravens. They will often attack Golden Eagles, especially if the huge bird gets to close to their nest. Excited ravens and crows may be a good sign that an eagle is close.
Don’t give up too early. Although huge birds, Golden Eagles are often hard to find. They occupy a large territory (normally between 30 and 200 square kilometers) and in most cases you won’t be able to view all the territory from where you are watching.
I hope those tips are helpful. If you have some more, please add them as a comment to this post.
This weeks Bird of the Week is the majestic Golden Eagle, one of the most powerful birds in the world.
Description
The Golden Eagle is a huge and powerful bird. Males have a wingspan of about 200cm, females up to 230cm. Their weight is normally between 4 and 6 kilograms, with some females reaching up to 7 kilograms. Their size is normally between 75 and 95cm. In nature, Golden Eagles can reach an age of over 30 years. In captivity some have reached more than 45 years.
Distribution
The Golden Eagle has the widest distribution of all the eagles in the Genus Aquila. It is the only Aquila eagle that occurs in North America. There it can be found in most of the western part of the continent from Alaska down to northern Mexico. In the Old World, it is distributed from Spain, Scotland and Scandinavia eastwards to Japan. The distribution in Europe is scattered and the Golden Eagle is gone from many areas where it historically occurred. The species now lives mostly in remote areas, often in mountains. In central Europa, it occurs only in the Alps. The Golden Eagle is not bound to mountains, though. They can also live in lowland areas when there is sufficient food, no disturbance during the breeding season and no persecution. It now breeds again in lowland areas in Switzerland, Denmark or Sweden.
Breeding
Golden Eagles normally do not breed before reaching the age of at least 4 years. Once paired, partners normally stay together for life.
Golden Eagles lay two eggs (rarely one and very rarely three). The first chick hatches 3-5 days before the second one. Because of this the first chick is considerable stronger than the second one and often kills it’s smaller sibling. This is a behavior that is common among many Aquila eagles. In some species, like the Lesser and Greater Spotted Eagle, almost always only one chick fledges. Golden Eagles raise two chicks more often. It is not yet 100% clear what favors the raising of two chicks. Sufficient food is definitely important. Maybe it’s also helpful if the second chick is a female and the first a male. Female eagles are bigger and stronger than males, so maybe when the second is a female (and the first a male), it can reach the size and strength of the first born after some time in the nest. There are some cases where Golden Eagles raised three chicks successfully. But this is a very rare exception.
Food
Golden Eagles are powerful hunters and are capable of killing large prey like Black Grouse, Red Foxes and small deer species. Normally they feed on middle sized mammals like marmots, rabbits or Prairie dogs (depending on location). They also hunt birds like Ptarmigan. Occasionally they kill crows, Ravens or even raptors like the Common Buzzard. In Denmark, Golden Eagles killed young Cormorants in the nest and there are also reports of Golden Eagles killing adult Cormorants in the air. A very interesting hunting method is used on the Balkan, where the eagles dropped turtles from up to 60 meters above the ground in order to break their shells.
Conservation
The Golden Eagle is not globally threatened. That does not mean that the species is safe everywhere. In many countries the population is low and restricted to remote areas (like in Germany, France or many parts of the USA). Golden Eagles are still illegally persecuted in some countries, for example in Scotland. Some hunters there see them as a competition because the eagle feed on Scottish Grouse, which is a very popular game bird. In Scotland, as in other countries, the Golden Eagles are sometimes shot or poisoned. There are many places in Scotland that would be suitable Golden Eagle habitat, but where none breed. Some conservationists think this is due to persecution.
In order to protect Golden Eagles, illegal persecution must be stopped. Current populations must be fully protected if not already done so. The use of pesticides should be reduced. Wind farms should not be build close to breeding or hunting territories or on migration routes. Disturbance around nests must be kept at a minimum, for example climbing must not be permitted there during the courtship and breeding season.
The current population in the Western Palearctic is around 10.000 breeding pairs, with Spain, Scandinavia, Turkey and the Alps being the strongholds.
The Golden Eagle Trust in Ireland has a new website. I don’t know exactly for how long, since I visited the site some month ago last year, but I really like what I saw there when I visited it again some hours ago.
The new site looks much better and beside focusing on Golden Eagles, it also covers the Red Kite and the White-tailed Eagle and their conservation in Ireland. A must read website for all concerned about those species and about raptor conservation in Ireland.
The 2nd edition of Ian Carter’s classic book about the Red Kite in Britain has recently been published. It covers the conservation, biology and ecology of this fascinating raptor in the UK. A must for all raptor enthusiasts.
Click here for more details and a possibility to order the book.
Raptor Protection of Slovakia (RPS) has published a new edition of the Slovak Raptor Journal. The focus is on the Eastern Imperial Eagle on Slovakia. Other articles included are summary of raptor ringing in Slowakia, unusual nesting by Tengmalm’s Owls and two articles about nesting White-tailed Eagles in eastern Slovakia.
The journal is available for free as a pdf download.
Download information:
Go to the Raptor Protection of Slovakia (RPS) website.
Move the mouse on the left menu over “Promotional Material”. A menu
appears with “Slovak Raptor Journal at the bottom”.
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