As many will know, I’m mostly interested in plants. However, last week was a little bit different. I mostly focused on birds and mainly did bird watching.
Birds are among the most fascinating creatures of the planet. In fact, their ability to fly is enough to fascinate me on its own. They are also really diverse, similar to plants. In reality, my interest in birds is as old as my interest in plants. However, for several years, I was unable to go out to see them. This year, my interested in birds came back again. I also bought a lens specifically for taking bird photos. It was definitely time to go out to nature to observe them!
On March 24 and 25, I went out to observe them. First to the northern forested region of Kızılcahamam and then to the rocky outcrops. I observed and photographed many species of birds. However, the real surprise came when I went to my restoration site March 25, 2023. I saw a predatory bird flying in the distance. Thinking that it was just a common buzzard, I got out of the car to take a photo. When I looked at the photos closer, I noticed that the bird was not a common buzzard. It was something more extraordinary. It was an eagle!
Surprized and amazed at the same time, I immediately drove home to look at the photos closer. With my limited knowledge about eagle species, I couldn’t determine the exact species. Therefore, I sent the photos to my friend who works at a project about Anatolian eagles. She texted back in several minutes! It was a juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca)!
More Evidence For Reproduction!
She informed me to be more careful and watch out for adult individuals. Luckily the area is really close to my house, so I went back again on March 27. I searched the are for other birds at first, but I was unlucky to find any interesting birds. While driving back home, I saw a big black bird flying in the distance. I immediately got out of the car, took my camera with 600 mm zoom lens and started taking photos of the bird. It was an eagle again!
This eagle was not juvenile! It was an adult individual in its 4th year, as confirmed by several people. Upon a closer inspection of the photos, I found out that the eagle was holding some branches, for nesting! We will look for the nest, with my friends, when the weather conditions are better.
