Harpy Nesting Tree

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Description

This one might not translate well here, but I wanted to share an environmental photo from our visit to a Harpy Eagle nesting tree from last month’s Guyana trip (tried to save a larger image for better viewing).

We were incredibly fortunate to arrive in time to see both adult eagles coming in with nesting materials as they prepared for another two-year chick-rearing period. This is one of the great Harpy nest viewing sites in South America, IMO. Not too close, and one doesn’t need to be situated in a sweltering hide. Instead, we climbed up to a hillside maybe 150 meters away (close enough to get good detail with a 600mm+ lens). The elevated position and distance offered a spectacular view of the tree where the nest is found. It’s a magnificent structure, and I wanted to show off the sheer majesty of it with a wider view that also offered a bit of scale.

Here you can see the male eagle with a large branch he’s just brought in, on the lowest right-hand bough. The Harpy is one of the world’s largest eagles, which should give you a sense of how immense this tree is. The nest, incidentally, is in the middle clump of greenery above him and to the left.

Technical Details

Two-shot stitched vertical pano
Canon R3
Canon 100-500mm
ISO 1250
1/4000th (I suspect I was still in “takeoff” mode… we did eventually land a few flight shots)
f/4.5

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Fantastic tree, Max. Maybe tag it for plant life as well. A nice environmental image showing the size of the eagle in relation to its home.

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A very cool tree, Max. that trunk going straight up almost forever before it branches is really cool. I didn’t even spot the eagle until I read your description and was beginning to wonder if they had separate bedrooms and a nursery with those three clumps of greenery.

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Very cool! Nice to see the full scene. What a great nesting location!

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Wow - what a great view. Well captured. Awesome looking tree. Enjoyable to see the bird’s habitat like this.

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Knowing just how enormous Harpy Eagles are, that scale is off the charts. What a fantastic opportunity for you. Those birds are fascinating, a little scary and gorgeous. The tree suits them perfectly and I hope they can have a successful round of parenting.

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