I had been wondering where the Wedge-tailed Eagles were hanging out, as I hadn't seen one for quite a while heading out via Glen Helen towards Papunya. So, one week recently I decided to head up the Tanami Road, not to llok for Wedgies specifically, more for a change of scenery.
The first pair I came across were quite close to the road, one on a roadkill about 5 metres from the road and the other off the road a bit more, probably 15 metres from the road. I then noticed a third one soaring above. Generally it is the crows that make me aware of the possibility a Wedgie could be around as they are the birds that spread from the roadside first. On this occasion, there weren't any crows around, but the one by the roadside was moving on the carcass. I slowed, then stopped. The sun was still rising behind me. The golden hour. Time to try to get out of the car without disturbing the birds. Door open. Foot outside the car. Open the door wider. Camera in hand. Stand up to exit the car completely. Still the birds hadn't moved. Closed the door gently. Still there. Looking wary. Camera starts to come up ..... and there goes the close one. I looked across towards the second one on the ground, still there. I moved around behind the car and managed to get a few photos.
The first pair I came across were quite close to the road, one on a roadkill about 5 metres from the road and the other off the road a bit more, probably 15 metres from the road. I then noticed a third one soaring above. Generally it is the crows that make me aware of the possibility a Wedgie could be around as they are the birds that spread from the roadside first. On this occasion, there weren't any crows around, but the one by the roadside was moving on the carcass. I slowed, then stopped. The sun was still rising behind me. The golden hour. Time to try to get out of the car without disturbing the birds. Door open. Foot outside the car. Open the door wider. Camera in hand. Stand up to exit the car completely. Still the birds hadn't moved. Closed the door gently. Still there. Looking wary. Camera starts to come up ..... and there goes the close one. I looked across towards the second one on the ground, still there. I moved around behind the car and managed to get a few photos.
Wedge-tailed Eagle
I then continued driving, and saw another lone Wedgies sitting in a tree, again, the sun was still rising behind me. More photos.
I did see 5 more birds that morning, 9 in total, another couple and another threesome. All of the birds were within 15 kilometres, between the first sighting and the last. I thought this was interesting as generally I would see them further apart, but probably this was where the food was, so this is where they were. I didn't see any more roadkill after the initial threesome location, but it was lovely to see these majestic birds once more in the wild.
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