An adult Crested Serpent Eagle returning to its lookout post after finishing off a crab.

The combination of Sony α9 II and EF 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS keeps focus locked on the face even at this close a distance — where no cropping gives you this frame size. Mirrorless also helps because the wider focus area means autofocus works even at the edges of the frame.

Crop from the photo above. AF tracking performance matters, but if the lens isn't fast to focus you simply can't keep up with birds in flight at this distance. Sony is impressive for the price.

A Crested Serpent Eagle perched in a banana tree, watching for crabs in the mangrove wetland below. A very Ishigaki scene.

The 13th juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle recorded this season.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle — a different individual from the one above.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle diving hard at prey. I wasn't ready to shoot flight, so the shutter speed was too slow and I ended up with an unintentional panning shot. ^^;