A morning with the eagles

I got up before sunrise today. I wanted to be out at the cliff by dawn so that I could try to see where the eagles had roosted last night. As I left the house it was 5°C and I was suddenly reminded of those cold fieldwork mornings. By 7:00am I was in place, grateful for the flask of coffee in hand. As the first light started to come down the cliffs I sat quietly content and waiting for the eagles.

Finally at 8:45 the pair came cruising into the kloof and after spending some time circling low over the slopes they came to rest in a dead cedar tree, one of their favorite vantage points.

By this time the Grey Rhebok were up too and grunted their noises in the valley behind me. The eagles took off again and glided over the cliffs and mountain slopes, once stopping to try to take a dead branch. The eagle pulled at the branch with its foot but it didn’t come loose. No doubt if it had I would have seen some nest refurbishment too. Nevertheless, the breeding season is coming near again and this was a great start to my day!