Highly interesting video footage at DVinfo.net

Lauri Kettunen · November 27th, 2007, 10:13 AM

The following clip

http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/116233

on the Norwegian TV Company's webpages is perhaps one of the most interesting video footages of birds I've ever seen. Quite a lucky shot!

Brendan Marnell · November 27th, 2007, 11:22 AM

Truly amazing footage, Lauri, thank you.
Was that a buzzard attacking the capercallie? Too small to be an eagle ...

Per Johan Naesje · November 27th, 2007, 11:44 AM

Lauri, yes that's a clip filmed by an amateur photographer. He should film the Capercailzie mating game but a Golden Eagle was interupting!!!!
The Capercailzie was so full of testosterone that the one who wasn't taken by the Golden Eagle in first round and did attack the Eagle was also killed by the Eagle in the end.
This is a once in a lifetime happening both for us viewers and of course for the photographer. The photographer choosed not to interrupt when the Golden Eagle was attacking. I think this was wise and this show us how the nature really is!

Brendan Marnell · November 27th, 2007, 02:27 PM

Per Johan

That is a Golden Eagle as you said.

While the eagle's wingspan is 4 times that of the capercaillie, my bird books tell me they are both the same height, fully grown, 86cms.

What a mighty flash of nature is captured on the clip. It encourages me to keep trying.

Lauri Kettunen · November 27th, 2007, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendan Marnell

That is a Golden Eagle as you said.

It's also a young Golden eagle for there is so much white on the tail and sides. A fully grown eagle is, I think, slightly bigger.

Per, thanks for the additional background information. Guess the videographer were in a good hide for the eagle comes in from the same direction as the where the camera has been.

Brendan Marnell · November 28th, 2007, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lauri Kettunen

Per, thanks for the additional background information. Guess the videographer were in a good hide for the eagle comes in from the same direction as the where the camera has been.

If Per Johan includes a daytime hide as well placed as this one in his "Bears, Wolves etc. Wildlife Workshop" I'll be seriously thinking of applying for his workshop at

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=108369

Per Johan Naesje · November 28th, 2007, 04:41 AM

Ha, ha Brendan,
that could be cool, fighting bears, hunting wolves, capercailzie mating game interupted by a huge golden eagle in the same scenery! What a footage that would have been....

Seriously, I'm very happy that scenes like this is seldom and rarely seen by, nor recorded by anyone! Wildlife shall be unanticipated IMHO!
Think about it, if you could do footage like this on every trip. Wildlife would have been as dull as taking the underground into the city.

Happyness for me is not to know what my next trip out in the wilderness will be and I (hopefully) think most of wildlifephotographer do...!?

Mat Thompson · November 28th, 2007, 05:20 AM

Very interesting stuff, I really wanted the second Capercaillie to get one over the young Eagle although I have to say even when he was really getting it I don't think it was going to give up on the kill huh. It reminds me of that sequence where lions catch a african buffalo and at first you think....thats it he's toast but all the other buffalo get together and on force chase away the lions...albeit very reluctantly.

The power of group force huh!

Have you guys seen the sequence shot be Simon king in Scotland where a Golden Eagle is swooping on a mature Red deer stag. Its awesome and very clever. The bird was actually trying to harrass the stag into running off a small rock face and letting gravity provide a vast meal! Golen eagles certainly are predators of the highest degree!

Brendan Marnell · November 28th, 2007, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Per Johan Naesje

....

Seriously, I'm very happy that scenes like this is seldom and rarely seen by, nor recorded by anyone! Wildlife shall be unanticipated IMHO!
Think about it, if you could do footage like this on every trip. Wildlife would have been as dull as taking the underground into the city.

....

That is a deep truth, well observed, Per Johan.

It was the ferocious power of the eagle's claws that amazed me. And, for a youngster, didn't he know his strong points? And didn't he know his opponents' weak points? At one stage he is almost telling the second capercallie that he has nothing against him and to go away ... but when the second one persists the young eagle finds the aggression and self-belief to attack him and kill him; maybe he had to, because even though his dinner was waiting to be plucked he might not have been able to carry it off while the second bird persisted in claiming conquest ... as you said Per, it was probably his testerone that made a fool of the second capercallie.

What I would love to see and video would be an eagle in flight ... having got many good clips (and better to come) of vultures soaring and gliding I am becoming convinced that griffon vultures frequently fly around for the pleasure of it (as well as checking out where to scavange the next meal which might not arrive for days). Eagles seem to be much more single-minded; they prefer fresh meat and concentrate their flight towards getting it, preferably alive, like in this footage ...

Dale Guthormsen · December 2nd, 2007, 09:55 PM

good evening,

This was an amazing shot of footage.

I called my son in to see it as he was visiting at the time. the first words out of his mouth were, "Its a trained bird!!!". while I did not really think so it was not out of possibility. Had I been able to, I would have freeze framed it and looked at the eagles ankles to see if there was any abrasion of the feathered tarsus, that would tell the story. Even if that was orchestrated it would have been very hard to do and still amazing footage. many trained eagles are very pocessive of what they catch and it would not settle down and eat tightly feathered as a wild eagle. Which could, in fact, be why we do not get to see it setting on the cap tightly feathered and plucking its meal.

What I really find interesting is that plumage wise the very bleached feathering, particularly the hackles resembled that of an adult golden. Yes there were white feathers on the underside of the eagle but it takes several years for a golden to obtain all dark feathering on its underwing coverts. I would place this eagle at 4 years old.

The video is spring footage and it is in spring each year that they begin to moult and the feathering has been sun bleached for a year. Also, eagles quite often moult feathers through out the year, not Quite as dynamicly placed in the year as most other raptors.

Not to try and take anything away from the footage, It was great, and if a wild bird truly a stunning piece of footage that one will not likly repeat in their life.

Videography can be had in many different ways.

1. hunting with a camera by going out and hunting for the wildlife in its environment.

2. Setting up blinds with various baits/lures to draw the wildlife to you.

3. Creating your footage with ceative footage regardless of how you got it.

4. Using footage others have shot.

other methods I may not be familiar with.

All have their place, my personal favorite is 1.

Per Johan Naesje · December 3rd, 2007, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Guthormsen

...the first words out of his mouth were, "Its a trained bird!!!".

..........

Videography can be had in many different ways.

1. hunting with a camera by going out and hunting for the wildlife in its environment.

..........

All have their place, my personal favorite is 1.

Dale, that's a thought I've never thought about when I first saw the footage back in 2005 and when Lauri made a thread here at the forum!

I'm a believer that most of the wildlifefootage shoot in Norway is from wild animals and birds. Even though you got someone running hides/blindes where they lay out bate to get the wildlife near you. The wildlife is still wild.

The Golden Eagle is a highly preserved predators in our country. There are around 1200 brood pairs and totally 2500-3000 in our country today. Norway has something called SNO (Statens Naturoppsyn) a unit run by government which do the surveillance that rules are followed both out in the field and by reporting status of our wildlife.

I do hope and think that inhabitants of our country will follow the rules declared that there is not allowed to have any wild species in captivity. Of course you'll find bandits everywhere!

So, back to the footage. I'm not in position to say that this is a captive Eagle, though my knowlegde to the species is far from good enough! I can not tell that this specific footage is shoot in Norway either, though it looks like it is.
I will be doing some investigating about this footage. Some good friends of mine is ornithologist and I also got some people in SNO to ask.

Thanks Dale (and your son) for your observation!

Lauri Kettunen · December 3rd, 2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Per Johan Naesje

The Golden Eagle is a highly preserved predators in our country.

Feel the same way as Per Johan. It is very very hard to conceive the footage were not genuine.

Pretty sure in Scandinavian countries it is not legal to own a captured golden eagle. Besides, it would be rather if not extremely difficult to arrange such a situation with mating capercaillies. I wonder whether the capercaillies would come even close if there were an eagle nearby. How did one hide the eagle from the capercaillies? Moreover, how did one release the eagle without disturbing the capercaillies? Finally, my guess is, if one released the eagle in such a situation, instead of attacking the capercaillies the eagle would quickly fly away. Summing up, as far as I can see, the odds are that the footage is genuine.

Tony Davies-Patrick · December 6th, 2007, 02:58 PM

I've been watching wildlife across the world for all my life and the video footage was a one-in-a-lifetime chance, so it of course aroused my interest...however, something didn't seem right from the first few seconds. It bugged me so much that I kept re-running it to check.

The extremely low-flight attack through quite dense woodland is unusual for a Golden Eagle, especially one not yet fully grown.

My apprehension heightened...

The first thing that entered my mind was that it was "staged" by a trained bird.

On closer inspection it seems that those thoughts were correct.

I may be wrong, but many aspects of the movie clip point to a 'staged' section of footage.

I hope that I'm wrong...

November 27th, 2007, 10:13 AM	#1
Lauri Kettunen Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Kangasala, Finland Posts: 445	Highly interesting video footage The following clip http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/116233 on the Norwegian TV Company's webpages is perhaps one of the most interesting video footages of birds I've ever seen. Quite a lucky shot!

November 27th, 2007, 11:44 AM	#3
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	Lauri, yes that's a clip filmed by an amateur photographer. He should film the Capercailzie mating game but a Golden Eagle was interupting!!!! The Capercailzie was so full of testosterone that the one who wasn't taken by the Golden Eagle in first round and did attack the Eagle was also killed by the Eagle in the end. This is a once in a lifetime happening both for us viewers and of course for the photographer. The photographer choosed not to interrupt when the Golden Eagle was attacking. I think this was wise and this show us how the nature really is! __________________ - Per Johan

November 28th, 2007, 04:41 AM	#7
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	Ha, ha Brendan, that could be cool, fighting bears, hunting wolves, capercailzie mating game interupted by a huge golden eagle in the same scenery! What a footage that would have been.... Seriously, I'm very happy that scenes like this is seldom and rarely seen by, nor recorded by anyone! Wildlife shall be unanticipated IMHO! Think about it, if you could do footage like this on every trip. Wildlife would have been as dull as taking the underground into the city. Happyness for me is not to know what my next trip out in the wilderness will be and I (hopefully) think most of wildlifephotographer do...!? __________________ - Per Johan

December 2nd, 2007, 09:55 PM	#10
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	faked??? good evening, This was an amazing shot of footage. I called my son in to see it as he was visiting at the time. the first words out of his mouth were, "Its a trained bird!!!". while I did not really think so it was not out of possibility. Had I been able to, I would have freeze framed it and looked at the eagles ankles to see if there was any abrasion of the feathered tarsus, that would tell the story. Even if that was orchestrated it would have been very hard to do and still amazing footage. many trained eagles are very pocessive of what they catch and it would not settle down and eat tightly feathered as a wild eagle. Which could, in fact, be why we do not get to see it setting on the cap tightly feathered and plucking its meal. What I really find interesting is that plumage wise the very bleached feathering, particularly the hackles resembled that of an adult golden. Yes there were white feathers on the underside of the eagle but it takes several years for a golden to obtain all dark feathering on its underwing coverts. I would place this eagle at 4 years old. The video is spring footage and it is in spring each year that they begin to moult and the feathering has been sun bleached for a year. Also, eagles quite often moult feathers through out the year, not Quite as dynamicly placed in the year as most other raptors. Not to try and take anything away from the footage, It was great, and if a wild bird truly a stunning piece of footage that one will not likly repeat in their life. Videography can be had in many different ways. 1. hunting with a camera by going out and hunting for the wildlife in its environment. 2. Setting up blinds with various baits/lures to draw the wildlife to you. 3. Creating your footage with ceative footage regardless of how you got it. 4. Using footage others have shot. other methods I may not be familiar with. All have their place, my personal favorite is 1.

December 6th, 2007, 02:58 PM	#13
Tony Davies-Patrick Trustee Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Worldwide Posts: 1,589	I've been watching wildlife across the world for all my life and the video footage was a one-in-a-lifetime chance, so it of course aroused my interest...however, something didn't seem right from the first few seconds. It bugged me so much that I kept re-running it to check. The extremely low-flight attack through quite dense woodland is unusual for a Golden Eagle, especially one not yet fully grown. My apprehension heightened... The first thing that entered my mind was that it was "staged" by a trained bird. On closer inspection it seems that those thoughts were correct. I may be wrong, but many aspects of the movie clip point to a 'staged' section of footage. I hope that I'm wrong... __________________ www.WILDCARP.com www.NIKON.me.uk

November 27th, 2007, 11:22 AM	#2
Brendan Marnell Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 938	Truly amazing footage, Lauri, thank you. Was that a buzzard attacking the capercallie? Too small to be an eagle ...

November 27th, 2007, 02:27 PM	#4
Brendan Marnell Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 938	Per Johan That is a Golden Eagle as you said. While the eagle's wingspan is 4 times that of the capercaillie, my bird books tell me they are both the same height, fully grown, 86cms. What a mighty flash of nature is captured on the clip. It encourages me to keep trying.

November 28th, 2007, 05:20 AM	#8
Mat Thompson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kent UK Posts: 1,397	Very interesting stuff, I really wanted the second Capercaillie to get one over the young Eagle although I have to say even when he was really getting it I don't think it was going to give up on the kill huh. It reminds me of that sequence where lions catch a african buffalo and at first you think....thats it he's toast but all the other buffalo get together and on force chase away the lions...albeit very reluctantly. The power of group force huh! Have you guys seen the sequence shot be Simon king in Scotland where a Golden Eagle is swooping on a mature Red deer stag. Its awesome and very clever. The bird was actually trying to harrass the stag into running off a small rock face and letting gravity provide a vast meal! Golen eagles certainly are predators of the highest degree!