Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus


Bald Eagle
Bald Eagles, coming in to land, above, and departing, below, at the Joe Overstreet Road boat launch on Lake Kissimmee south of Orlando, a fine place to observe these great birds in action.


Bald Eagle


Bald Eagle
An adult flying by a seaside restaurant in Surry, on the Maine coast, in August.

Bald Eagles
Again at the Joe Overstreet boat launch in Central Florida, Bald Eagles squabbling--the one on the right has a fish.

Bald Eagle
A Bald Eagle alongside Joe Overstreet Road, taken on my first visit there, in 2008.
Central Florida has the largest population of Bald Eagles in the lower 48.


Bald Eagles
Above and below, more Bald Eagle action at Joe Overstreet Road, this on my third visit there, in 2015--a pair perched together at the pond near the boat launch, and then one of them departing.

Bald Eagles

Bald Eagle
The male of a pair of Bald Eagles in Anchorage, Alaska, perched and landing, above
and below, near the nest, in 2011.


Bald Eagle


Bald Eagles
Above, the male lands in the nest carrying a fish in his left talon; below, the female feeds one of the
nestlings.


Bald Eagles


Bald Eagles
Above, nestlings in full juvenal plumage, ready to fledge--this in beautiful Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando, where Bald Eagles regularly nest. Below, a nestling likewise ready to fledge, and practicing wing-flapping, at a nest in a redwood on the grounds of Curtner Elementary School in Milpitas, at the south end of San Francisco Bay. This was the second consecutive year the same pair of Bald Eagles nested in this unlikely spot, providing constant enjoyment and instruction to hundreds of school children!


Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle
Fledgling Bald Eagles, above in Montana, below in Northern California. Note mostly dark brown head, gray bill, variable amount of white mottling, and, diagnostic for juvenile, bright yellow rictal flange or "lip" at the back of the mouth on all these birds.


Bald Eagle
Two more juvenile Bald Eagles, these near where I live in Northern California near
where I live--above in San Benito County, below in Santa Clara County.

Bald Eagle
This fledgling shows the all-white axillaries or "wingpit" that decisively distinguishes immature Bald Eagles from Golden Eagles of the same age, which have uniformly dark axillaries. Baldies also have substantially larger heads and bills and longer necks than Goldens, and in flight they glide with wings straight out, whereas Goldens hold their wings in a moderate dihedral, or "V".

Bald Eagle
The mainly white head and tail, along with the mainly dark underparts and the
yellow bill of the immature Bald Eagle above, mark it as third year; it is flying
over Coyote Valley, south of San Jose. The bird below, seen high above Stanford
University's Inner Quad, is probably second year, with its gray bill, cream-colored
iris, and extensive white on the underparts. But Baldies in their second and third
years show a lot of variation in plumage, which can make them hard to age; the
one below, for example, shows an amount of white feathering on its head that
would more often be found on a third year bird. 


Bald Eagle