If there’s one thing more impressive than a bird of prey soaring overhead, it’s two birds of prey having a damn good go at each other. On our recent visit to Britain, the Headington Red Kites put on quite a display.
One is majestic: 
Then while one was peacefully circling, the other would periodically dive-bomb it. It all seemed very ritualistic: the circler always adopted a defensive position to ward off the attacker just before it could strike.
As the show went on, it became gradually gentler, so I suspect this might have been a courting display (“rough wooing”!):
Unfortunately the male and female are essentially identical, so it’s hard to know quite what was going on.
Back in Slovakia, it was the turn of the White-tailed Eagles. One made his/her escape before I had time to take any pictures, while the presumed victor slowly circled up and away. This has the largest wingspan of any eagle on the planet, plus a fairly heavy-duty beak:
Definitely in love and much more relaxed were the storks, soaring above it all:
