2007 was a good year for Naturetrek group sightings of Harpy Eagle, with birds seen on tours in Ecuador, Peru, Panama and, most recently, on our new Oilbirds, Harpy Eagles and Table Mountains tour in Eastern Venezuela in December.
At dawn our group headed into the Imataca forest, where one of the Harpy nests has been monitored by forest rangers for more than 18 months. They approached the nest site and there it was, a juvenile eagle 18 months old (digiscoped here by tour participant Wendy Hooson), looking every bit like a fully fledged adult bird. They watched the young female ripping meat off a Capuchin Monkey carcass, before it suddenly flew to another tree near by, where it spread its wings. The bird was not independent from the nest, and continues to depend on her parents to feed her every five days or so.
For tour details and the full 2007 tour report visit the Venezuela - Oilbirds, Harpy Eagles and Table Mountains tour page.
