Saturday, October 15, 2011

Wildlife Photos: The Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle

Here is a series of shots taken in Okinawa, Japan today.


There weren't any blue skies and bright light as seen in my introduction photo but, I was happy to catch these shots on the rainy day we were experiencing all over the island on this mid October day.


The Buzzard Eagle usually doesn't arrive on Okinawa until November.


They migrate from colder climates and stay until March sometime.


This bird was stretching and flapping its wings, trying to shake the water off.


Unlike my other raptor friends, the Osprey,  Grey-faced Buzzard Eagles don't go diving in fresh or sea water to grab fish.


These birds are meat-eaters.


Rodents, snakes and frogs are what's on the menu for Buzzard Eagles.


They can fly and swoop down on dinner lots faster when their feathers are dry.


Once this bird got enough of the rain water off its wings, it was ready for the hunt.


It spotted something on the ground, took a dive below the treeline, out of my sight, never to be seen again.  That's alright by me, Mr. Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle.  I'll visit you again on a brighter day and have a little longer lens on the camera when we meet next time.


MORE ABOUT THE GREY-FACED BUZZARD EAGLE MAY BE SEEN HERE


VISIT MY WEBSITE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY


2 comments:

Unknown said...

How did they manage to get a name like that? They eagle part I get, it's the buzzard part that has me stumped.

RyukyuMike said...

FishHawk,
Beats me. Them scientists think up names that you and I could never even imagine. Ya think we should go back to school and become scientists ?
Nah, never mind. I don't want to wake up anymore braincells. How bout you?