White-tailed eagle on red deer stag corpse (1 Viewer)

Cracking photo taken by a camera trap of a white-tailed eagle on a red deer stag corpse. Stags are large animals, so check out the size of that eagle! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43307984

Wow, puts our Bald Eagle to shame. . ..

My God! I cannot believe the size of that Eagle.

Wow, that eagle is huge!

I AM NOT CALLING ANYONE A LIAR, NOR THROWING BRICKBATS
I am just looking for help in dissuading me of any cynicism, because I would really like to believe it:
This has been nagging me since I saw it on the BBC.
Has the photo been in any way verified?
The last Red Deer stag I saw was big; like 2 metres from snout to tail; often taken as 1.75 to 2.25 or more.
The White Tailed Eagle is up to (in one case) 2.45 metres wingspan.
The eagle looks too big, and the photo feels flat for me.
Have we heard of an eagle this size in the area? the ones from Greenland are cited as largest size, while the Scottish are heaviest.
Sorry but with perspective and all, it is hard to credit.

Thanks
Harry

hwinbermuda said:

I AM NOT CALLING ANYONE A LIAR, NOR THROWING BRICKBATS
I am just looking for help in dissuading me of any cynicism, because I would really like to believe it:
This has been nagging me since I saw it on the BBC.
Has the photo been in any way verified?
The last Red Deer stag I saw was big; like 2 metres from snout to tail; often taken as 1.75 to 2.25 or more.
The White Tailed Eagle is up to (in one case) 2.45 metres wingspan.
The eagle looks too big, and the photo feels flat for me.
Have we heard of an eagle this size in the area? the ones from Greenland are cited as largest size, while the Scottish are heaviest.
Sorry but with perspective and all, it is hard to credit.

Thanks
Harry

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I agree it doesn't look natural and flat and over-sized, but I think it is just a weird camera image (camera traps often have poor quality image) or the effect of a wide angle lens or something.

I also have no real reason to doubt the image but would remark that claims of "huge" things due to the perspective of wide angle lenses ("giant feral hog" seems to be a favourite for hunters) invariably have the huge thing at the front of the pic, not behind something else.

However, the stag does not have all that much of a rack of antlers and may well not be that big.

John

Where the view causes the deer's fur and antlers to overlap with the eagle the photo looks quite genuine. But I have to say that its head looks huge and measuring it on my monitor it is the same width across the head at the level of the base of the bill as the gap between the bases of the deer's ears. Is this realistic? Of course feathers can be flattened down or puffed out so this could make a big difference.

Lee

depends on the stag. it could be quite small and in that case the relative size is possible but on quick measurement if the stag is 2m then the bird is around 3m.

Farnboro John said:

I also have no real reason to doubt the image but would remark that claims of "huge" things due to the perspective of wide angle lenses ("giant feral hog" seems to be a favourite for hunters) invariably have the huge thing at the front of the pic, not behind something else.

However, the stag does not have all that much of a rack of antlers and may well not be that big.

John

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I once nearly ran over a Wedge-tailed Eagle. I was cresting a hill around a slight curve and there before me was a massive wedgie feeding on some fresh kangaroo roadkill right on the centerline of the road. I was doing maybe 80 kays and hit the anchors hard. The wedgie took off right towards me and flew straight over my windscreen. I don't know what the gap was but it wasn't much. Thank god I didn't hit her. Thank god.

My entire windscreen was filled with wedgie. Her head was going over the top of the windscreen before the tail had even reached the base of the windscreen, and the wing tips were at least a foot over each side of the bonnet. My car was about 1.75m wide. I estimated the wingspan at ~2.5m :eek!: ...... she was a big girl. As an adult breeding female I was just so glad that I didn't hit her or injure her in any way. Hopefully she puts that lesson in the memory banks.

I agree that the deer in the photo might not be fully mature, or that big. It does seem strange though that the WTE in the photo appears that large as a wide-angle perspective lens would make the foreground (deer) seem larger, and shrink the background (the WTE). I really don't find the wingspan that questionable (after 2 ultra close encounters with 2.5m wedgies) , but what does seem odd to me is the fatness (width) around the neck of the WTE. I could attribute the body width to the eagle having a splayed leg stance, but the neck/head/gape of the WTE do seem quite wide - perhaps this is just a distortion of the camera lens. Certainly a big bird. How magnificent!

I should add that my 2nd wedgie encounter was face to face on the top of a mountain. It just hovered up, without a beat, full 2.5m+ wingspan, up the side of a cliff and no more than 20 feet directly overhead where I sat. She was huge - dwarfing me. Dead set I thought she was going to throw me off the side of the mountain ! :eek!: I kid you not I actually spread all my limbs out to make myself look as large as possible ! as if to say - too big for you buddy! Absolutely incredible (but slightly frightening all at the same time!



Chosun :gh:

Chosun Juan said:

I should add that my 2nd wedgie encounter was face to face on the top of a mountain. It just hovered up, without a beat, full 2.5m+ wingspan, up the side of a cliff and no more than 20 feet directly overhead where I sat. She was huge - dwarfing me. Dead set I thought she was going to throw me off the side of the mountain ! :eek!: I kid you not I actually spread all my limbs out to make myself look as large as possible ! as if to say - too big for you buddy! Absolutely incredible (but slightly frightening all at the same time!
Chosun :gh:

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great stories mate. somewhere here i told a story of a pommie shiela on my property in Vic. came in white and shaking and probably a bit light on bodily fluids after an encounter with two (probably juvies) that were swooping within 10 foot of her at my dog. (she was resting under a cherry oak which is solid cover for Oz so they probably didnt know she was there) my dog was a big rottie/shepherd cross too. i think they were playing, practising, myself and saw them many times in my front paddock. but wedgies are known to be big. they need quite a runup.

jape said:

great stories mate. somewhere here i told a story of a pommie shiela on my property in Vic. came in white and shaking and probably a bit light on bodily fluids after an encounter with two (probably juvies) that were swooping within 10 foot of her at my dog. (she was resting under a cherry oak which is solid cover for Oz so they probably didnt know she was there) my dog was a big rottie/shepherd cross too. i think they were playing, practising, myself and saw them many times in my front paddock. but wedgies are known to be big. they need quite a runup.

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A rottie/shepherd cross is quite a big solid dog, so yeah maybe training....

I have seen film footage (danged if I can remember where - maybe a doco on crocs or dingoes, or something) where two wedgies did similar to an adult dingo in the outback. Swooped on it and attacked it in a cooperative tag team until they killed it ! :eek!:

Awesome birds :t:



Chosun :gh:

i asked about this when enquiring re accommodation for a possible trip that way when health recovers later in year, very nice person there mentioned the local RSBP checked the sd card as it came from camera and were as excited as the owner, therefore posted it. the suggestions (not here) of fakery are hurtful to them. more videos coming soon of buzzard on same carcass.

jape said:

i asked about this when enquiring re accommodation for a possible trip that way when health recovers later in year, very nice person there mentioned the local RSBP checked the sd card as it came from camera and were as excited as the owner, therefore posted it. the suggestions (not here) of fakery are hurtful to them. more videos coming soon of buzzard on same carcass.

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thanks Jape, look forward to the video.
Harry