ML500811251

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I first saw a Greater Spotted Eagle at IIT Bombay during the lockdown year of 2020, thanks to Prof. Krishnan who helped us to distinguish the Eagle from Black Kites by size difference. Since then I had observed Greater Spotted Eagle frequently (during winter – it’s migratory) in and around Mumbai (Bhandup pumping station, Viva grasslands, Uran, Green Valley Park, Seawoods and few more times at IIT Bombay itself). The only other region where I had seen a GSE was at Maguri Beel, Assam. I had seen how this mighty eagle can create tremor in a flock of ducks. All of these sightings that I witnessed so far were indeed great, but most of the time the eagle was so far away (or high) that the photo opportunities were limited, until today. I witnessed a Greater Spotted Eagle today at IIT Bombay Hillside area (near the Sameer hill top trail starting point) from a very close range probably less than 15 meters above me. It was incredibly fast; the sighting only lasted for less than 5 or 6 seconds where the eagle was seen maneuvering a Black Kite and flew away towards east. I was lucky enough to click a few pictures of it displaying magnificent flight feathers under favorable afternoon light.

Technical information

Model

NIKON Z 9

Lens

AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

ISO

400

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

1800 pixels x 1252 pixels

Original file size

2.95 MB