The Above the Eagles Project is a private study by Ned Makim of nesting Wedgetail Eagles not far from Inverell in northern NSW. There are two sites and cameras are carried in and out each time with filming lasting only about 15 minutes every 10 days to a fortnight to minimise disruption. It is run purely for the joy of learning about Wedgetail behaviour in the nest. It is shared here because wild things are always appreciated by those who hunt, who love wild places and wild creatures and those who choose to live life outdoors. For them and for myself, this whole thing is a labour of love...
This is the first footage of the first nest in the project. It's shows the tiny eaglet moving around the nest and working out its place in the scheme of things. Apologies for the resolution. It was my first attempt at this type of thing...
The eaglet has grown and is exploring the eyrie with more confidence. There is a kid goat in the nest this time courtesy of the parents' hunting among the wild goat population. At about 15 seconds on you'll see the eaglet send a projectile out over the nest edge. That's how the nest stays clean...
The eaglet's feathers are developing as is its distinctive wedge tail. It spends most of this footage preening. If you look carefully you can see a wallaby leg immediately behind the eaglet.
The eaglet stretches its wings and has a few bounces to test its new flight feathers before more preening and lying down for a rest.
After much lying around during the day, the eaglet does a few flying exercises just after sunset as the dark sets in. At about 3.15 the eaglet shows disdain for the paparazzi...
The eaglet has almost all his proper feathers and is testing his flying skills...
The eaglet toys with a rabbit kitten, pouncing on it and dragging it around the nest before doing a few more wing exercises. He might only be a week away from the first flight...
The eaglet is almost ready to fly. Here it spends some time preening its almost complete complement of adult feathers...
One of the parents flies in for a brief visit but spots me in the blind and takes off again. The eaglet starts calling to the parent once it sees it coming in...
When I visited again, the eaglet had flown.