The rainforest clad mountains behind Thala Beach Lodge cause uplift in the afternoon sea breezes of The Tradewinds. With stiffly held upturned wings, sea-eagles soar effortlessly along the coast, riding these invisible waves for hours at a time. Their exceptional eyesight detects fish activity from a great height. They descend when fish present them with an opportunity. But close to the sea they have less uplift and have to expend more energy beating their wings powerfully.
On the coastal road just South of Thala Beach Lodge, I watched a sea-eagle struggling to gain altitude a few hundred metres offshore; a huge fish hanging from its talons. Flying less than two metres above the sea, it headed for a poplar gum tree alongside the road. Just as it gained the shore line, it had to let the fish go to avoid being hit by a car that came up behind it. The driver of the car made no attempt to slow down and would have collided with the eagle had it not let the fish go. With only a second to spare the eagle gained a few centimeters of altitude and barely missed the top of the car. I felt incensed at the thoughtless behaviour of the driver as the car sped on. The exhausted eagle had gained a perch in the eucalyptus tree and was watching its prey spread out in the middle of the road. I rushed out to move the fish before another car came by.
I was staggered when I came close to the fish. It was a Slender Sea-pike about 115 centimetres in length: Now quite dead but its jaws bristled with formidable teeth. I carried the fish onto the nearby sandy beach, where the sea-eagle could later come down and reclaim its prize without risk of being hit by passing traffic. The fish had a substantial weight and I was in awe of the eagle’s ability to lift such a load straight out of the sea !
Pairing for life, the magnificent White-bellied Sea-Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) are a poignant symbol of fidelity in wild untamed coastlines.
As the embodiment of this wild and beautiful place, they have been adopted as a powerful emblem for Thala Beach Lodge.