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This was such a magnificent flying "machine" that I thought that someone might be as gobsmacked by its shear beauty as I was. Enjoy.

Verreauxs' Eagle. Beautiful birds - our largest eagle. Prefers dassies for food. Couple around Table Mountain. Pretty rare - need large ranges.

I can't see the registration

Great pics koffiepit, not something we see often

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Brent Best

Great photos Beautiful bird to grace the pages on the forum

Got a pair that breeds on the peaks above Noordhoek - probably the last pair on the Peninsula. The pair that used to breed on Lion's head seem to have disappeared. Got some stunning aerial footage of that pair in flight about 15 years ago. In the 1970's it was not uncommon to see two pairs over Noordhoek with a couple of pairs of Fish Eagles thrown in for good measure. Habitat destruction means raptors have little food so they either move on or die out.

Some video footage of them in Walter Sisulu:

According to the spotters in Walter Sisulu this particular pair is also forced to forage further away from their nest as a result of habitat encroachment. As Eugene pointed out, they prefer to forage on dassies but there are almost no dassies left in their vicinity. Now they have to forage beyond the townships that appeared all around the park which puts a strain on their ability to feed their young. This is a pity because they are magnificent predators. Their build reminds me of the B2 bomber. They even have wing tip winglets that may help to reduce induced drag!

Eugene
What do you mean by "our largest eagle"? The western cape's largest or SA's?
I'm sure the "Breekop Arend" or Mertial eagle, is the largest in SA but can't be found in the far southern parts of our country....

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Da-di-da-da-da

Where is this walter sesulu botanical gardens? Is this the Kirstenbosch ones or the National botanical gardens

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Da-di-da-da-da

I never knew "Uncle Walter" was a gardener!

Ja - we often have a pair here. We used to get Martial Eagles here, perhaps it could still be part of their range, but nobody has seen one in yonks.

Lot of gardening done on Robben Island.

Seriously, where is this garden and what was it's previous name?

It's up in Gauteng - was created in early 1980s IIRC.

http://www.sanbi.org/gardens/walter-sisulu

Thanks Eugene

BTW Black Eagles are really common in my neck of the woods. There are at least five inhabited nests within 10km of my home. Martial Eagles are not so common and yes Boertjie is correct they are larger than Blacks.