Chapter 1: A rare vantage
During the winter of 2022, while travelling in Queensland, I approached the top edge of a gorge and noticed a wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) fly into it. Looking to where she appeared to have come from I spotted a nest containing two eggs. Being a nature lover and keen wildlife photographer, I felt incredibly lucky, given that eagle nests are usually beyond our range of sight. Figuring that she was incubating the eggs and wouldn’t be off them for too long, I headed back to the car for my long lens. Sure enough, by the time I’d returned so had she.
Dad was on sentry duty across the other side of the gorge and I headed off to camp, returning the next morning after a rainy night to find the mother still there and sopping wet.
So began a remarkable extended natural history experience. I continued on my way, and settled for a while about 500km from the nest, returning regularly during the next two and and a half months.
Chapter 2: New life
Wedgie eggs take about five weeks to hatch. But of course, I didn’t know when they’d been laid. One day, about three weeks after my discovery, I had a strong gut feeling the eggs had hatched. Unable to resist, I made the journey back to the nest to discover two fluffy little white chicks. With my limited knowledge of wedgies, but reasonable knowledge of chooks, I figured these eaglets were about a week old. Moving quietly and respectfully, I settled in and watched them for a few days, careful not to draw them to the attention of other humans.
Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin September-October 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin September-October 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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