Field Notes
The imperial eagle is a large, dark, powerful raptor that winters in India, and one I have been fortunate to catch across very different landscapes — the wetlands of Gajoldoba, the salt desert of the Little Rann of Kutch, and the reservoir edges of Bhigwan.
A vulnerable species, it is not a bird you can count on: it appears, holds the sky for a while on broad wings, and moves on. In the open country it favours, I have learned to watch the far perches and the thermals, and to be patient with a great deal of empty sky between sightings.
