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Golden Eagle ?? PICS
William81
Member Posts: 25,369 ✭✭✭✭
The Bald Eagles are back in the area. Today I was scanning the edge of the cornfield and saw this large bird working over the remains of some animal. I thought it was an immature bald eagle, but I think it might me a Golden Eagle.
I was unable to get very close to it......What do you all think ??
Comments
I think you got close enough. Don
About 400 yards with a 500 mm lens...cropped down as much as I could without loosing too much resolution.
While they can be found almost anywhere in the US, they are primarily a Western states bird.
I think they get the white head later in life.
How big was it? Golden eagles are huge birds. I've only had to good fortune to see one and that was in Montana.
I've seen one within 50 feet. Was out "controlling" ground squirrels with a .22 when I heard a loud THUMP. Turned slowly around and there was a golden atop one of my victims. His golden eyes bored into mine with the irrefutable claim, "Mine."
I nodded respectfully and he raised his wings, plunged them down once and was gone - with the squirrel. Damn, he was magnificent.
He was larger than the bald eagles I see in the area...
I've seen many dozens of Golden Eagles and thousands of Bald Eagles. I would certainly agree that Goldens are the larger of the two, but most raptor "experts" disagree with us.
If I was an eagle and had a choice, I'd definitely prefer to be Golden over Bald!! 😁
Sorry! Owles made me post this!
Just for you Rocky! 🙂
Years ago while controlling the prairie dog population, had a pair of goldens arrive as soon as the shooting started.
Was great to watch. They are a magnificent bird. They will take down a grown antelope or deer. At one time after covering
a large prairie dog town, (over a mile long and wide) we counted 8 goldens partaking of the harvest.
Neighbors below us butchered a beef a couple of winters ago. Gut pile had all of the "regulars" magpies, ravens, vultures, and even a couple of balds. That is until a couple of goldens showed up. They are definitely the larger bird. Everyone else retreated to the surrounding trees until they left.
There are/was a pair of Golden Eagles being tracked that summered in Canada and wintered around Bernheim Forrest in Kentucky. That's an hour plus south of where I live. They have been tracked for about 10 years. Interestingly while the two eagles met up in Canada and in Kentucky they would travel different routes to get there. This year the male failed to arrive in Kentucky and researchers think he died in Canada last spring as the female abandoned her attempt at nesting there.
There are Golden Eagles east of the Mississippi. If I have seen any I didn't recognize them for what they were. I have seen some big birds though so maybe I wasn't aware of what I was seeing as I didn't think they came this far east. Bald eagles and Osprey are frequent sights around here now if you are out on the water. When I was a kid these were not around. Though when I was about 14 I seen a bird I thought was a juvenile Bald Eagle.
I was driving cross country from Wa to Ct in 1980. In the desert of east Wa. and late at night. Something ,which I guessed to be a Golden Eagle, dive bombed my front windshield and pulled up at the last second. Around a half hour or so was a complete repeat. I swear it wasn't the 151
Son and I had one dive on a turkey decoy one spring, amazing the sound when they "put on the brakes". Came within about 8 feet of the ground,