10 April 2013

it's all about ... the (immature) White-bellied Sea Eagle

Walking along Soldiers Beach Sunday afternoon ...

Silver Gulls

one of several coal-ships waiting their turn in queue to enter Newcastle harbour; way out on the horizon.


Walked on up to Pelican Point to see if there were wader birds about and yes, there was.

Looked to the skies on the return walk and WOW, a White-bellied Sea Eagle just made my day!

   

  Can you see it's holding onto something?  I actually saw this come falling to the sand-hills...


and I really wanted to go check it out but didn't want to miss taking as many shots as I could, while I could.  Who was to say if any would turn out at all?



ooops, looking like it's starting to lose a grip at this stage



yikes - don't think for a minute you're going to pick me up!

phew

By the time I got down near the surf club to walk back uphill to the carpark, I glanced back.  Now the White-bellied Sea Eagle had a mate.  It was beautiful to see but sooo far away; still, one last parting shot for you.

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday

Late addition: for those of you who can tell what a wedge-tail eagle looks like; please consider this comment emailed to me.  Does anyone else also have ID feedback for me?  I may well have to change the title to this post!

altho the tail looks very 'wedgie' i think your bird is actually an immature sea eagle from the coffee coloured brown and the whiteness of the tail feathers"

Also, added to this was then Richard Waring's posted comment, in part it reads, "I am fairly sure this is an immature WBSE not a WTE", so thank you to you both, I have now changed the title to suit your suggested identifications.


34 comments:

Horst in Edmonton said...

Beautiful Raptor.

mick said...

Great photos of the eagle. I have seen them occasionally but never at the beach and I have never got good photos. Congrats!

TexWisGirl said...

so very cool! love the feathers you can see in flight!

Linda said...

Hi Carole, great photos! I can almost hear and smell the ocean with these! Thank you so much for sharing.

Montanagirl said...

What a wonderful encounter for you! You took some great photos of the whole sequence!

Lisa Gordon said...

What a magnificent creature, and you have photographed it so beautifully, Carole!

Jan Castle said...

Amazing shots Carole!!!!

jeanlivingsimple said...

Very cool views and I would die to get shots like you did of the eagle!

Anonymous said...

Lovely place but oh wow! Those eagle shots are amazing! So majestic.

Carletta said...

To be in that beautiful setting of sand and sea and watch an eagle would have been a wonderful experience.
I don't know how you kept your cool. I'm not sure I could have. You got some great flight shots!

Isidro Ortiz said...

Buenas capturas en vuelo de esta bonita rapaz.Saludos

Irma said...

Great pictures again Carole.
Really quite amazing the wedge-tailed eagle, also with prey, very well photographed.
Greetings Irma

Brian King said...

I don't know about the ID, but it's a very handsome eagle! Your photos are fantastic! I love the straight up view! I wonder what it was carrying? I really like the photo of the coal ship, too!

Hootin Anni said...

Wow....I am in total awe of your photography. Super images of the in flight of the eagle. Just plain wow.

PS...I'm not sure but when I clicked on your link at the WBW hub, the link took me directly back to WBW instead of your blog post?!! Some glitch...[just saying in case you may want to go back and re-add another link]

BAD 'Hair' DAY

Richard Waring said...

Hi Carole, lovely shots and story. I am fairly sure this is an immature WBSE not a WTE, but regardless of the variety, this is.a lovely set of photos. Thanks for sharing. Regards, Richard

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

Marvelous photos of the beach and this special eagle or hawk. Amazing !

Irma said...

Hello Carole the translator works.
I'm very happy.
Greetings Irma

Judy said...

Amazing images of the eagle!!! I love the sand and the surf, too!!

grammie g said...

Hi Carole...Wow that is a biggy your eagle, and the shot's are fantastic!
Love seeing birds in flight with the wings full out and soaring!!
Love the coastline photos too, very lovely looking there!!
Grace

Anonymous said...

Whowwwh, ganz wundervolle Fotos.

LG Mathilda ♥

Phil Slade said...

Brilliant luck with the eagle there Carole anf it left me wondering waht was in those talons. Can't help with WBSE or a WTE as we don't get either of those beauties over here.

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Wonderful shots of the eagle in flight, Carol. I've never even seen an eagle in flight.
Thanks for your comments the last couple of days.

Neil said...

Great photos of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle.

Arija said...

Great shots of the sea and the eagle. I love this meme for the great help we get in identification both from Stewart as well as other knowledgable sources. Isn't it amazing how many Pelican Points there are in Australia?

Karen said...

great shots, silver gulls are so pretty.

Les Fous du Cap said...

Thank you for these attractive captures;-)
CĂ©line & Philippe

Dianne said...

What an exciting photo shoot Carole ... it's very difficult identifying birds in flight but at least you and we have learnt something new.

NatureFootstep said...

what a great place to spend a day birding. Love it.

Stewart M said...

My immediate reaction was WBSE - so I'll stay with that!

Great pictures of a bird that looks like a "flying barn door"!

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW.

Stewart M - Melbourne.

Gail Dixon said...

I'm so impressed with your eagle/raptor images. The shots of the beach are also quite nice. :)

Adrienne W said...

What a magnificent bird!
The beach looks a lot like the one we frequent, but I've never been so lucky to see a sea eagle there.
Well done :)

Kay said...

Great pictures of the eagle in flight. The wings are quite impressive!!!!

Evelyn S. said...

I went to Wikipedia and found some interesting info about the WBSE---such a beautiful bird!

Laura said...

Amazing shots of this bird, whatever kind he is...I don't know birds, but I love to see them! You got great close up photos! Thanks for the amazing views!
hugs,
Laura