The Mexican Eagle -El Aguila Real

My friend Fulvio Eccardi had been talking to me about a project  he has been working on for at least two years that involved the aguila real or golden eagle of Mexico. This year being the Bicentennial of Mexico, I stupidly thought that he was trying to photograph an eagle standing on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak as pictured in the Mexican flag.  I should have known better.  Fulvio and other scientists have  spent endless hours, days months even,  in a fox hole in the state of Zacatecas waiting for the perfect moments to photograph and study the habits of  a golden eagle couple in order to protect this fast disappearing species. (There are only 70 known couples left in Mexico.)  What they hope is that this great effort which they mostly fnanced themselves will mobilize conservationists all over the world to come to their rescue. If the American bald eagle was saved from the brink of extinction so can one of  the symbols of  Mexico.   They have put together a lovely video. El Aguila Real that I urge you to see.

They had a grand ceremony in which they gave eagle feathers to the Huichol Indians (He never told me the significance of this.) and will have a formal ceremony in Zacatecas soon.  I plan to be there. That is one state I don’t know.