Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
I was taking a landscape photo of the fall scenery at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico with a medium zoom lens in 2009 when this bird flew across in front of me, and I got this grab-shot, my first postable image of a Golden Eagle. Since then I have been able to get some additional photos, shown below, but I'm still waiting for a chance to take a photo worthy of this magnificent bird.
The image above and the five below were taken in or near the Diablo Range, which separates the San Francisco Bay Area from the California Central Valley. This excellent area for raptors is said to have the highest density of nesting Golden Eagles in the world. The white patches on the tails of the birds shown above and the two below mark them as immature.
Same bird shown above and below, with much less extensive underwing white patches than in the juvenile shown in the second photo down.
Above, a boldly plumaged juvenile Golden Eagle overhead, with large white patches in both tail and underwings; the extent of white lessens as the birds mature over three years, and can be quite variable. Below an adult overhead, all dark underneath.
