Sorry for the terrible shots, but as you can see from the full-frame shot in #1, I was too far away.
I do not believe that this maneuver is restricted solely to mating. I see eagles do this at any time of the year, and eagles to it regularly when there are heavy concentrations of eagles after the same food source.
The actual flipping over and presenting talons is done frequently by other birds, although the talons are seldom grasped together. I see ravens and crows perform this maneuver often. I even saw and eagle roll over and present its talons to a raven that was above and harassing it.
When a bird is being attacked from above by another bird, its last defence is to roll over in mid-air and present its talons to the attacking bird.
There is recorded evidence that some eagles do not release their talons and fall to the ground. Some of these receive serious injuries and some die.
Great action capture Tony!
In the first one it looks like one eagle is pursuing the other. Thats a fantastic shot with the mountains in the bg!
Apart from the mating ritual it is probably a good plain fight too!
Martin
Nice ones Tony, I recently saw this conduct and the two eagles free fell and were spinning as they did. They disengaged just prior to falling in the river.
Incredible action Tony. I have witnessed this behavior with two harriers and have dreamed about a full frontal full frame sequence all the way to the river. Thanks so much for sharing this incredible display.
what a scene!