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Martial Eagle

Polemaetus bellicosus

Description:

This is how my day started today: I was grumpy because of an early start this morning, inadequate quantity of coffee I managed to find and ingest, and then an interminable wait for something not important and an inexplicable delay of two hours... Which has put us on the road on 'the normal time', in spite of all precautions we took the previous day... Yep, grumpy! When we finally took off, and while driving to our destination for daily work, we spotted THIS MAJESTY on a tree near the road, I was in awe. Martial eagle is a large, imposing bird and a powerful eagle. It was difficult to confirm from a distance, but the books say it reaches about 90cm in length (I can live with that one...), and over 2m in wingspan. But what I can ascertain is that its silhouette and its stance sitting on top of that acacia tree is all about power. Just have a closer look at that talon protruding over the branch where it sits... This is a kind of bird you see from a distance and you just want to admire its greatness... from a distance. The Martial Eagle has dark grey-brown upperparts, neatly separated from its white, but peppered with grey-black spots, underparts. It sports a short crest on the head; and it has yellow eyes and grey cere. Just an amazing bird to see in its natural environment, even if it is for a minute.

Habitat:

Seen in Kunene region of Namibia (northwest), arid open acacia tree-and-shrub landscape. Very dry (but still magnificent and rich in wildlife) at the moment, following a three-year dry-spell.

Notes:

By the way, after contemplating this bird for a minute or so, all of my grumpiness and bad mood dissipated, for me it was an amazing moment when I had to admit to myself - and what if we've left on time? I would probably have missed THAT minute... I'm a sucker for Karma, and Karma always gets you in the end! and yes, this evening I'm just grateful for all those 'bugs-in-the-system' that allowed me to enjoy that minute or so.

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Zlatan Celebic
Spotted by
Zlatan Celebic

Kunene Region, Namibia

Spotted on Mar 11, 2020
Submitted on Mar 11, 2020

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