michali Posted May 1, 2008 Share #1 Posted May 1, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) M8, VISOFLEX3 mount & 280mm f4.8 African Crowned Eagles are the most powerful African eagles and stand about 90cm (3 feet tall). They inhabit riverine forests, feeding mainly on monkeys and small antelope. They are "monogamous" and pairs of eagles often hunt co-operatively, the first eagle flies over the forest canopy eliciting alarm calls from monkeys, enabling the eagle which is following to locate the prey and swoop vertically down on it. I was very privileged to spend a few hours under this nest, watching these birds renewing and preparing the nest, obviously planning for the female laying her eggs soon. I have been visiting this nest for the past 20 years which has been inhabited for at least 60 years by various pairs of crowned Eagles. To get an idea of the size, the nest is almost 1.2 meters high. Taken yesterday at Zuka game reserve South Africa. Thanks for viewing MIKE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 Hi michali, Take a look here African Crowned Eagles Series . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Martin T-M Posted May 1, 2008 Share #2 Posted May 1, 2008 Mike, great series. #1 is fantastic ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DES Posted May 1, 2008 Share #3 Posted May 1, 2008 Great shots, I wish I had my telyt 400mm ( just bought) when I went to the Kruger last year. Keep them coming Des Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carylwithay Posted May 1, 2008 Share #4 Posted May 1, 2008 Beautiful birds. They must be very hard to find since they match their environment so well. Caryl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur Posted May 1, 2008 Share #5 Posted May 1, 2008 A great series of a beautiful bird. Hope they and their offspring's future are secure! Thank you Charles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted May 2, 2008 Martin & Des- Thank you for your comments. I've also just purchased the VISOFLEX3 mount and a Telyt 280mm & 400mm, really enjoying it! Caryl- Thanks for your comments, you're right they're so unobtrusive and blend in so well it's not so easy to see them at first. Charles- Thank you! Their future is probably more secure now than it has previously been (hopefully), they're in the middle of a very large game reserve which is surrounded by other protected areas. We do our best to create awareness. MIKE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted May 2, 2008 Share #7 Posted May 2, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Awesome work. Have any of these ever attacked humans? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted May 2, 2008 QUOTE: "Awesome work. Have any of these ever attacked humans?" Ben-Thanks very much! To answer your question, yes about 2 million years ago. A friend of mine who is a paleoanthropologist has written this: "Who killed the Taung child?" The world's oldest murder mystery has been solved: the 2-million-year-old Taung child was killed by an eagle, not a big cat. Previously, experts had believed that the child, whose fossil skull was found by Professor Raymond Dart in South Africa's North West province in 1924, had been killed by a leopard or sabre-tooth cat. The Taung child, only three-and-a-half years old, was a member of Australopithecus africanus, a species of bipedal hominid and an early human ancestor. Professor Lee Berger of Wits University's palaeoanthropology unit announced on Thursday that it was evident from the marks on its skull that a bird of prey similar to the African crown eagle had swooped down and seized the child with its large talons and beak, killing it immediately. If you're interested click on this link to read more : Who killed the Taung child? - SouthAfrica.info Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsw Posted May 2, 2008 Share #9 Posted May 2, 2008 A suberb series. Beautifull birds and great lenswork! The Visoflex and 280mm is impossibly clunky and cumbersome, and utterly charming; I love working with mine. Cheers, Henry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted May 2, 2008 Share #10 Posted May 2, 2008 The first shot is exquisite. The touch of motion blur on the near wing adds to the impact of the image. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland L. Posted May 2, 2008 Share #11 Posted May 2, 2008 Thanks a lot for showing. LG Roland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Monkhouse Posted May 2, 2008 Share #12 Posted May 2, 2008 beautiful, superb series Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share #13 Posted May 4, 2008 Henry, Brent, Roland & David- i really appreciate your comments, thank you! Henry- you're right the VISOFLEX combo. is so bulky & cumbersome but so much fun to work with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur Posted May 6, 2008 Share #14 Posted May 6, 2008 Mike, Thats good news indeed. Thank you Charles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 6, 2008 Share #15 Posted May 6, 2008 Great stuff, Mike, keep them coming. I'm glad you are enjoying your Visoflex combo! I wish I were out in the bush right now too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquared Posted May 7, 2008 Share #16 Posted May 7, 2008 Mike, Great series. Love the flight shot in #1. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pramanan Posted May 8, 2008 Share #17 Posted May 8, 2008 Great shots Mike, I like the flight shots very much. With regards, P.Ramanan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted May 8, 2008 Share #18 Posted May 8, 2008 Hi Mike, Great to hear that at least one other person here in South Africa has an M8. Love the series, particularly the first shot. Just one question, Zuka, have not heard that name before - is that in Mpumalanga or Northern Natal? Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 8, 2008 Share #19 Posted May 8, 2008 I looked it up some time ago, Andreas: Africa on Safari with CC Africa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoeppie Posted May 8, 2008 Share #20 Posted May 8, 2008 Hi Mike, great serie! I also love my M8 with the Visoflex. And I've also bought a 4,5/280 a few days ago. Did you use an IR-Filter with this lens? BR Lutz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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