Photographer Giulio Zanni went to Alaska specifically to get shots of bald eagles – but he didn’t count on capturing a truly awesome mid-air display of two fully grown adults fighting for food.
With their wings outstretched and their deadly talons poised to grasp and claw, neither of them giving any quarter, the two birds are locked in battle as they tumble through the sky. Mr Zanni’s pictures perfectly capture the creatures in all their magnificence and glory.
The fight began after the larger of the two birds had plucked a fish from the water off the coast of Homer, intending to take it back to its nest on dry land.
Wham: Without warning an eagle flies straight into a larger bird and begins a furious fight over a fish. Photographer Giulio Zanni managed to capture the action
But the smaller bird had other ideas and plotted an intercept course. It flew straight into the larger bird and attempted to rip the fish out of its grasp.
What followed was a blur of beaks, wings and talons as the two fought it out in the air.
Not far away, in a small boat with his camera trained at the sky, Mr Zanni spotted the action unfolding above him.
Despite being transfixed by the display, he managed to get off a few shots before the smaller bird realised that its attack was hopeless and broke off, disappearing behind some nearby rocks.
Screaming eagles: The birds tumble through the air as they fight over the fish – which can just be seen in the talons of the lower bird in the picture above left
The victorious bird took its catch to ground and began swallowing it whole, clearly not waiting around for any other chancers to come along and try to steal its meal.
Mr Zanni, 47, who lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina but is originally from Italy, had travelled to Alaska to take wildlife pictures – and said it was well worth the trip.
He said: ‘I was on a small boat waiting for the eagles to fly down from the rocks. An eagle caught a fish from the water and then another one came from nowhere and the pair started fighting in the sky.
From start to finish: Mr Zanni captured the moment the eagle caught its food and, after the tense fight was over, greedily swallowing the fish whole
‘You could hear the noise of the two big birds’ wings impacting against each other and flapping really fast.
‘After some skirmishes, with the eagles hanging to each other by the talons, one of the two gave up and disappeared.
‘Bald eagles are known to fight like this but it is very rare to see such action.
‘It was a fantastic experience and these pictures have a very special place in my photography archive.’
