Wedgie at the Flinders Ranges

Every now and then a friend shows you some photos you wish you had taken.

I have never been to the Flinders Ranges, in South Australia, but my friends Phillip and Cathie Owen have been. Last Wednesday, at the CTC Choir practice, Cathie showed me some photos - and this series just stood out as worthy of publishing.

So, here they are.

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) on ground, near a dead Kangaroo.

This bird is probably relatively young, as it shows a lot of red on the neck.
Wedgies get progressively darker as they age.

This bird is nervous, looking around to the right.

It has taken flight.
Note how powerfully it is flapping.
The huge wing feathers are bending under the pressure of the down-stroke.
The wedge-shaped tail is fully spread, to give "lift" as the bird if taking off.

As the bird is clear of the ground, it tilts its right wing down
to begin moving away, under full power.

Quite possibly it would have flown to a safe perching point, within sight of this road kill, so that it could come back after the human intruders had left. For a Wedge-tailed Eagle, A freshly killed Kangaroo is too good an opportunity to pass up.

Thanks to Cathie and Phillip Owen for the use of their photos.