One of the reasons we chose Venezuela for a trip in 2007 was because of the excellent chance it gave us for seeing a Harpy Eagle. The Imataca Forest Reserve has upwards of 60 pairs within its 3,000,000 acres. Because the reserve is selectively logged, the locals and the scientists who study the raptors generally know where a few nests are at any given time, and they typically designate one as the one for the tourists to visit. Typically, you see an older chick that is still being fed by the parents, but you would be unusually lucky to see one of the adults. Even if you do, you would usually only enjoy a brief visit to drop off food. Well, I think we shattered all the luck meters on this one, as you can see from the photos below. Not only was an adult at the nest the entire time (2 hours), but she called constantly, flew around, worked on the nest, and generally put on an amazing show. When you include the perfect light, and then the full rainbow behind the tree, it was magical.