I looked up and saw a bird of prey flying low over their heads. If you get a flying eagle close-up, the first thing to look at are the axillaries—the feathers on the underside of the wings where they join the body—otherwise known as the “wingpits.” I have never seen a bald eagle young enough to still have a brown head that didn’t also have white or whitish axillaries. I’m seriously jealous. I considered telling them what they had missed, but many of you will know what stopped me—a feeling that I would only be making a small private humiliation both larger and public. Ron, your descriptions have helped us quite a bit in identifying the eagles on and around our Florida lakefront. Identification of these feathers can be challenging. Thanks so much for this post and great pictures. I have grown accustomed to the sound of the geese “talking” to their young – sort of like background music. », Poll question: Do you have hummingbird feeders? After a bit of waiting, we briefly saw the lapwing fly by on its odd, paddle-shaped wings. That area is for viewing at times other than winter. Wherever you are in your study of bald eagles, I urge you to go out and punch through to that next level. We'll never send you spam and you can unsubscribe at any time. For example, you might compare a bald eagle’s feathers with those of a grackle. A crow just came by and sat next to him, about 1 yard away…I though for sure he/she would go after the crow. Sorry…. », Poll Question: What Are You Most Grateful For? Some balds have tails that are very like those of a golden eagle in pattern, though not in length. After their first year, the bodies of immature Bald Eagles start filling in with whitish feathers… If you find an eagle feather, can you keep it? But the very distinctiveness of mature bald eagles sets a trap into which far too many birders fallthe root problem that keeps so many birders from coming to really know bald eagles is that the adults are just so darn distinctive. Feather Illustration. I stumbled across it because we have 4 bald eagles that use our trees in our yard as roosting spots daily. Turkey Vulture vs Bald Eagle Feathers. I was in Grand Junction yesterday and much of the river is solid ice on top. Compare Turkey Vulture vs Bald Eagle feathers and crest to find out all about their feathers. It’s gratifying to know more eagles are nesting in Utah now. It sounds like you live in a very, very special place, Chris. The difference in the wings is reversed, though, with the juveniles having narrower wings than their elders. You may briefly flirt with the idea of abandoning birding in favor of something less complicated and more easily grasped—particle physics, for example. Thanks for posting! The family moved across the channel and hung around for a while. Welcome to the U.S. We often get them in for rehab here in Klamath Falls, OR, and I typically rely on the feathering on the legs to determine BAEA vs GOEA, but these pictures are a HUGE help with not only determining which it is, but with age. This stage is often confused with the Golden Eagle (Golden Eagles have feathered lower legs or tarsi while Bald Eagles do not). And your much better weather…, When I first saw the title of this entry, I thought, guide to old eagles? One thing that’s great about shape as a field mark is that it tends not to change much in birds, despite differences in age and sex, whereas plumages vary drastically. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in. A man and woman who were walking more or less beside me stopped nearby, and all three of us examined the oncoming bird, the lapwing momentarily forgotten. », Poll Question: How would you describe your bird identification skills? Graphic Illustration. Speaking of golden eagles, I think birders generally overestimate the difficulty of telling them apart from balds, mainly because their common names both contain the e-word. The iris is beginning its transformation to yellow and there’s also some yellow at the base of the beak. Welcome, Chris, and thank you. Do you want to pay thousands of dollars in fines and possibly face jail time? The adult Bald Eagle is unmistakable with its distinctive bright white head and tail contrasting with the dark brown body and wings. Lots of variability. Saved from fws.gov. A side view of the same bird as in the previous image. Thanks Ron that was great and the photos incredible as a norm for you. But suddenly their vocalizing changed dramatically to a deep low honk, which caught my interest. Poll Question: Vote for the National Bird! Naturally, if you have an eagle-sized bird with dark wingpits and a white or whitish head, it will be a bald. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, not baited, set up or called in. Ron: fabulous guide, thank you. 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. N othing has captured the fascination of man quite like the ability to fly. Federal Law. You may at times feel that you no longer know what any bald eagle looks like. By the fourth year (though there’s much variation) the head is mostly white with some dark flecking around the eye and forehead near the cere. If bald eagles are infrequently seen in your area, you can look for the shape difference between juvenile and adult red-tailed hawks. What a wonderful tutorial! I know adults and young juveniles, but the intermediary, mottled plumage throws me in terms of aging the eagle. Been sitting there for about an hour now. Even if some of the progress you make is later revealed to be partially incorrect, you’ll still be a better birder for it. The reason is that they are quite variable and are often not a good indication of a bald eagle’s age. As the head whitens there often remains a dark brown eyestripe. . I’m working on a watercolor of a juvenile golden now that has dark eyes. », A Robin Needs Three Snows on Its Tail Before It’s Truly Spring », Poll question: Do you intentionally landscape your yard to attract birds? Illustrations. . But many birds actually do change their shape somewhat as they move from juvenile to adult. Art. And so, picking my moment, I’d like to offer a few pointers on bald eagle identification. Solid brown or hazel are most common. Instead they were trying to make their observations fit their mental image of turkey vulture or black vulture, and it wasn’t working. Though the dark bird was flying quite low, the light was dim, and it was not easy to discern detail against the sky. If you do get a perched bird, or a low-flying one, you might also look for beak and eye color, which both go from dark to yellow as an eagle moves through its first four years. Juvenal plumage, worn for a bird’s first year, is characterized by a dark brown head and body, though near the end of this time, the belly may fade to a paler brown. What a show! Let’s go back to the question of the lapwing field, “TV . 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! The warm, early morning light gives it a bit of a golden glow. I TOLD you I’d likely post some more Bald Eagles in the near future, Maria…. Feathers consist of interlocking microscopic structures that are light, but very strong. Earlier this month I observed an interesting event. Fish and Wildlife database of bird feathers, the Feather Atlas. Notice that the plumage is dark brown throughout, though they may have some white or pale mottling at this stage – especially on the underparts. I hope you can get Golden Eagle pictures the same way. The long wings flapped with unmistakable power, quickly halving the bird’s distance to us. Yes, I am fortunate indeed to have access to lots of eagles for part of the year. 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. I love this! If you limit yourself to only the most basic field marks and recognizable plumages, you may not starve, but you’ll be missing out on a lot of great stuff. 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). What a magnificent journey through the stages Ron, I knew you had some Bald Eagle treasures and more to come! Let’s take a closer look at those plumages and divide them into four categories. Eagles that have not reached the adult stage are referred to as immature, juveniles or sub-adults. Quite a few of them do alter their shape perceptibly over the first year or so of life, and bald eagles are a good species for demonstrating the phenomenon. 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”. Many of these younger birds are mistakenly identified as Golden Eagles by the general public. . This, I suspect, is the source of many misidentifications—combined with wishful thinking. But it was still apparent to me that we were looking at a juvenile bald eagle, and that if it continued on its present course, we were going to have a thrillingly close encounter with it. We live right near the St. Lawrence River and see quite a few Bald Eagles in groups. A lot of people do not realize the transformations this amazing raptor goes through before full adulthood. Saw a juvenile/subadult yesterday with really interesting mottling. Tana, I’ll bet you do become attached to those Teasdale birds since they return every year. Thanks! Would the mottled juvis be siblings? Art. Click here to see our current subscription offers! Will they change and get lighter like the eyes of the baldies? It is great to see all the ages. An adult on the right, a first year bird on the left and an intermediate juvenile in the middle with some interesting mottling. Plumage after the first year becomes increasingly variable. But no, he started to prune his feathers instead. Two are older and full white, and the other two are mottled but large. Waiting to see what he/she does next. I’m less sure about any nape color changes as these eagles mature. 1/640, 7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in. Shape is important and useful on bald eagles, too, but there is a pitfall here. To begin with, the two birders would have had no trouble had our eagle been an adult. It’s getting to breading season here in the San Antonio and Corpus Christi areas, and I’m very much looking forward to the awesome waterbird and pelagic raptor plumage we’ll be getting. I wonder if any of the eagles I’ve seen here were baited prior to my arrival and I just didn’t know it? Thank you so much for the detailed chronology of the changes! I seriously doubt that the adults you’re seeing are the parents of those juveniles and I have the same reservations about those juvies being siblings. Every bird species has wings and body fully covered with feathers with each having different size and shape. Where i am from we have a dam on the Susquehanna river that is a major feeding spot for hundreds of eagles of all stages .In the last weeks of Sept all of oct,nov,and dec we can be assured to see between 50 to 150 birds a day.If you are not to booked up i would love to invite you for next years season.You can find me on Fred Miranda or flickr Thanks again for this info, Thanks Michael, very much. Much better weather…, when i see around here look like your photo # 5 Copyright Law, not! Are similar in size and their flight feathers share many common features people do not use, print reproduce. It again this morning, taking off from a nearby island, 1... Bright yellow talons, long solid bald eagle feather identification feathers ( no lines ) such! Especially in the “ golds ” on the napes of various goldens and are! 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