Skip to main content

Eagle with Sony action cam makes record-breaking flight from world’s tallest building

Dubai World Record Eagle Flight
While camera-equipped drones can certainly pull in some pretty awesome footage if you hit the right location, you’d do well to beat the kind of point-of-view experience offered when you strap an action camera to the back of a big bird.
Recommended Videos

That’s exactly what happened in Dubai on Saturday when a conservation group attached a Sony Action Cam Mini to Darshan the eagle before he launched off the top of the Burj Khalifa, at 830 meters (2,722 feet) the world’s tallest building.

The dramatic footage, which was livestreamed by the BBC, offers viewers an exhilarating ride all the way down to the eagle’s handler at the base of the building, with panoramic views of Dubai captured along the way.

Darshan’s descent, which was organized by Freedom Conservation to raise awareness about endangered birds of prey, is said to be the highest ever recorded bird flight from a man-made structure and follows similar stunts by the same eagle off the Eiffel Tower in Paris and London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.

You can join Darshan on his record-breaking flight by hitting play on the video above – and be sure to check out the neat moment at 1:38 when the bird switches from a glide to a dive seconds before landing.

If you’d like to try your own hand at some animal-based POV action cam footage but don’t have an eagle out back, you could always strap a GoPro to your pooch. Just don’t go throwing him off the top of a tall building.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The Canon EOS R100 mirrorless is ideal for beginners — $170 off today
Canon EOS R100 mirrorless camera with lens attached

If you don't want to spend the money on a high-end DSLR camera, mirrorless cameras are an excellent alternative. But they, too, can be expensive, at least normally. Right now, thanks to a bevy of Prime Big Deal Days discounts, the best camera deals, in general, and super great Prime Day camera deals there are a ton of offers available. So, it's a great time to shop if you've been on the fence. However, we wanted to call out a great deal for novice photographers on the Canon EOS R100 mirrorless camera. Normally $600, it's just $429 right now as part of the event, saving you over $170. The bundle includes the RF-S18-45mm lens. Again, a great starting point for casual or novice photographers.

 
Why shop this Canon EOS R100 mirrorless camera deal for Prime Big Deal Days?

Read more
My favorite SD card reader is a mere $15 for Prime Big Deal Days
The Lexar USB-C SD card reader.

I take a lot of pictures on a daily basis. And while I usually get to offload them in the comfort of my home, sometimes I need to export as quickly as possible. Maybe even straight from my phone.

That's where my new favorite SD card reader comes in.

Read more
Astronaut enjoys out-of-this-world view from his bedroom window
An aurora as seen from a Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the ISS.

A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has posted a beautiful image showing an aurora over Earth.

Matthew Dominick has been aboard the ISS since March and is due to return home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Sunday. In fact, it was from the docked Crew Dragon that he captured the stunning shot.

Read more