Bald Eagle Chases Starling by Rob Palmer

Rob Palmer’s photos of a Bald Eagle chasing down a European Starling are a must see!

Rob took these amazing  photos in Colorado using a 500mm lens with a 1.4x extender. His photo above actually won the Grand Prize earlier this year in the National Wildlife Federation’s 39th Annual Photography Contest. Over the past couple of days, his series of photos are making their way around the internet showing up on the Daily Mail and as Pictures of the Day at the Telegraph.

Rob describes his experience:

I noticed a group of eagles sitting in the trees and then I spotted they were catching the starlings and blackbirds.

It went on for a number of days. The starlings would launch out of the yard and into the air as one.

Two or three eagles would then start to pursue. It seemed as if the starlings had been hypnotized because they acted as if they were not being chased.

Over ten days I saw at least 50 starlings getting caught and eaten by various eagles. It would happen anywhere from 100 to 500ft in the air.

It was an awesome and inspiring thing to witness.

As a photographer, you only dream of seeing wild instances like this and I took advantage of the situation. I have not witnessed anything like this since then.

Well, I can only dream of having an opportunity like this! Unbelievable! See all four photos of the Bald Eagle and the European Starling at the Daily Mail.

Be sure to visit Rob Palmer’s website called Falcon Photos. Here you can see all of his wonderful photos and even buy prints!