Focus on Feathers

Alice Springs Desert Park – swooping Hobby (a type of falcon). Look at those gorgeous feathers!

I visited Alice Springs Desert Park a couple of weeks ago and saw some amazing demonstrations of free flying birds. The Hobby is a type of falcon, very swift and agile, and I was thrilled to get a fairly well focused shot of it swooping down, every feather clearly visible.

Another impressive bird display involved a juvenile Black Breasted Buzzard. These birds are known for their ability to use stones to crack open eggs, including the very large, thick-shelled, green eggs of emus. At the park, the buzzards open imitation eggs with meat inside.

Close-up of buzzard’s wing feathers.

Here, the bird has both wings outstretched for balance.

Alice Springs Desert Park – Black Breasted Buzzard (juvenile) cracking open an “emu egg”.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the topic of feathers.