We are in South Rustico, P.E.I., Canada and today saw a second siting of what we thought was a Golden Eagle. Will they change and get lighter like the eyes of the baldies? And I’ve never seen a golden eagle of any age that didn’t have solidly dark wingpits. Many of these younger birds are mistakenly identified as Golden Eagles by the general public. But many birds actually do change their shape somewhat as they move from juvenile to adult. The tails of juveniles are also longer, which means their shape is a bit more like golden eagles. Both eye and beak are very dark. », Poll question: Have you spied any nests in your backyard? Ron, thank you for posting this astoundingly beautiful and informative illustration of the plumage stages of the Bald Eagle. If you find an eagle feather, can you keep it? As a wildlife painter and nature lover, your photos and comments are priceless. », Poll question: How comfortable are you with spotting scopes? But the very distinctiveness of mature bald eagles sets a trap into which far too many birders fall—the root problem that keeps so many birders from coming to really know bald eagles is that the adults are just so darn distinctive. This would make for a wonderful teaching tool. One plausible explanation says that the shapes of juveniles give them more leeway for less skillful flying, whereas the adults have a more high-performance structure that allows for greater maneuverability but is harder to control. Keep up the great work! 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in. How does the eye color of the golden eagles change as they age? Remember that we are going from a dark headed, dark-bellied bird in year one to a white-headed, dark-bellied bird in year four. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, not baited, set up or called in. That updated and improved version of this post can be found here. The iris is beginning its transformation to yellow and there’s also some yellow at the base of the beak. Hopefully some will find this post useful in helping them to appreciate these magnificent birds even more. As I am writing this, the second mottled bald eagle just came swooping down and both flew to the edge of the water and started feasting on muscles or clams (the tide is out)Holding the clam with one foot and pulling the body out with his beak to swallow it. Yes, thank you! Thank you so much for the detailed chronology of the changes! Of course, share away Debbie. Thanks for all the valuable information. To our north stretched a field, and somewhere in it there was supposed to be a northern lapwing, a handsome Eurasian shorebird that always makes news when it appears on our shores. Hold it…Just now a third bald eagle, with a white head and tail swooped down as if to chastise them, and all three flew up into the air. Ron: fabulous guide, thank you. I have been told over and over again that no eagles are near this aboretum I drive pass regularly. The eagle passed right over our heads, close enough that one might almost have felt the rush of air off its wings. I live along the Colorado River corridor so get to see eagles often, especially in the winter because the river flows freely here during the winter. The white one chased the two younger ones in the air and tried to grab the clam that one still had in his claw while in the air doing incredible aerial acrobatics! Welcome to the U.S. Explore. Fledging juveniles keep this plumage for about 6 months before beginning to molt into another plumage. Please follow this link for more information. Wherever you are in your study of bald eagles, I urge you to go out and punch through to that next level. Of course, you mostly see these facial details on perched birds. Early on in this year, bald eagle bellies will be predominantly white with brown flecks, but the brown will win out, replacing most or all of the white. Jul 30, 2014 - Bald Eagle Feather Identification | FEATHER SCAN DATA. Get professional advice from the editors of, How to Identify Bald Eagles, Young and Old. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in, 1/800, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in. Patty, The eyes of juvenile Golden Eagles are dark brown while those of adults can be dark brown, light yellow with flecks of gold and brown, hazel and a few are almost white. Though a lot of birders struggle with identifications of all sorts, very few people hesitate to call an adult bald eagle just that, provided it was even reasonably close by. Wait! This bird has fish blood on its beak and if you look closely you’ll see that it has a “blown eye” (misshapen pupil, possibly due to injury). The warm, early morning light gives it a bit of a golden glow. An adult bald eagle calls to mind something more like a flying board, perhaps a snowboard, though that last image overstates the roundness of the wingtips considerably. I am sure it was some kind of eagle (it was wider than my old Lexus ES) it raised itself over my car’s hood with one quick “tttthhhhhhuump” while holding its meal, and the force was felt via air pressure from my car windows that were open slightly two inches. I’m working on a watercolor of a juvenile golden now that has dark eyes. And I applaud you for doing it – what you’re doing is a very valuable service for your visitors and for the birds. The face, crown, nape, and throat will go from mostly brown to mostly white. Notice that the plumage is dark brown throughout, though they may have some white or pale mottling at this stage – especially on the underparts. Some birds at this stage (like this one) exhibit a few secondary flight feathers that are longer than the rest at the trailing edge of the wing. As the head whitens there often remains a dark brown eyestripe. 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in. I’d wager that the couple have completely forgotten the big dark bird that left them scratching their heads, but I have not. I stumbled across it because we have 4 bald eagles that use our trees in our yard as roosting spots daily. Ron, your descriptions have helped us quite a bit in identifying the eagles on and around our Florida lakefront. Their tails can be dark, white, or some of each. Art. They can be anywhere from dark with some whitish mottling (as they often are on juveniles) to pure white (as they typically are on adults). I appreciate the offer but I don’t fly well and it’s too far to drive. In year two, the belly is mostly whitish flecked with brown, but the entire head and breast are still dark, giving the bird a hooded look. And your much better weather…, When I first saw the title of this entry, I thought, guide to old eagles? The beak becomes more yellow (though not as bright as in the adult). Juvenile bald eagles leave the nest with a dark brown plumage. », Today's Poll Question: Have you attended or are you planning to attend a virtual birding festival? These people had just had an eagle zoom right over them, but they hadn’t fully enjoyed it because they were unable to recognize it as such. Crow then goes away. Thank you, Ron. As I type I’m also watching a literal blizzard outside my window so I’m having a hard time imagining birds of any kind “on the nest”. In this case, “eagle” simply means “big raptor,” because the two are not closely related in a taxonomic sense.
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