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Archive 2015 · Aging of Eagles Help

  
 
BNJarrett
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Aging of Eagles Help


Do you agree with my aging of these eagles?

I was asked today at Lock and Dam 14, how I could tell the age of the different eagles. Today there was a 4th year bird that was very active.  I call the four year olds a dirty bird (They don't sell well).

The Bald Eagle that most everyone can identify is the adult.  This bird is described as:  large size; bright white head, neck and tail: dark brown body and wings; and bright yellow bill.  It takes 5 years to reach this plumage.

The 1st year bird is a very dark bird.  The body of this bird is two shades of brown; darker on the breast and lighter brown on the lower body.  There is no whitish triangle on the back, the upper wings are two toned brown and the bill is dark.  The head is dark as well.

First Year Bird:


Second Year Bird:


The 2nd and 3rd year birds look different from the 4th year.  The belly shows white marks.  There will also be dramatic white patches that appear in the wing-pits.  The whitish triangle often appears on the upper back of the bird and the top of the head is often whitish.  All of these markings appear on the 2nd and 3rd year bird, but a way to tell the difference between a 2nd and 3rd year bird is the tail feathers.  The 3rd year birds have all but maybe 1 of the flight feathers that are the same length…giving the trailing edge a smooth or regular look.  The 2nd year birds only have about half of the flight feathers are longer than the others…this gives the appearance of ragged or irregular feathers.

Third Year Bird:


Fourth Year Bird: (The Dirty Bird):
"">

Fifth year and older Bird:


Eagles are now living to 20 to 25 years of age in the wilds. (Yeah!)

Did I age them correctly?

Thanks for stopping by, Life is good, and I am blessed!
Kent



Jan 01, 2015 at 09:51 PM
thehotel
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Aging of Eagles Help


I am thinking you are right.

Wacky roger



Jan 01, 2015 at 10:02 PM
surfnron
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Aging of Eagles Help


I can't argue with you Larry ~ Ron


Jan 01, 2015 at 10:08 PM
morris
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Aging of Eagles Help


Hi Kent,

Yes you have it correct though there is another phase with captive birds such as the rescue bird named Clare:

062808DSC_8128C by Morris0, on Flickr

She started turning "gray" at about 35 and got a little darker before passing at 40.

Happy New year,

Morris



Jan 01, 2015 at 10:14 PM
RVRich
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Aging of Eagles Help


That's what I've heard before as well Larry. BUt at least now I get to see them in pictures!

Rich



Jan 01, 2015 at 10:22 PM
birdied
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Aging of Eagles Help


Very nice and informative ! Great shots.

Birdie



Jan 01, 2015 at 10:35 PM
kmunroe
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Aging of Eagles Help


looks about right Kent


Jan 02, 2015 at 03:21 AM
Ted ellis
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Aging of Eagles Help


I think your 3rd is closer to a 2nd or a late 1st as the beak is still quite dark.

Edited on Jan 07, 2015 at 08:46 PM · View previous versions



Jan 02, 2015 at 09:42 AM
BNJarrett
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Aging of Eagles Help


surfnron wrote:
I can't argue with you Larry ~ Ron

Thanks! But this is Kent not Larry! Larry is the eagle master of L&D 14, I am just a struggling understudy!




Jan 02, 2015 at 10:16 AM
BNJarrett
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Aging of Eagles Help


pfnskyshots wrote:
That's what I've heard before as well Larry. BUt at least now I get to see them in pictures!

Rich


Thanks! But this is Kent not Larry! Larry is the eagle master of L&D 14, I am just a struggling understudy!



Jan 02, 2015 at 10:16 AM
BNJarrett
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Aging of Eagles Help


morris wrote:
Hi Kent,

Yes you have it correct though there is another phase with captive birds such as the rescue bird named Clare:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7548/16144861616_be04788331_o.jpg062808DSC_8128C by Morris0, on Flickr

She started turning "gray" at about 35 and got a little darker before passing at 40.

Happy New year,

Morris


WOW 35,,, that is old but really cool!



Jan 02, 2015 at 10:17 AM
Methodical
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Aging of Eagles Help


Yeah, pictures are worth a thousand words. It's good to see the progression. Based of the photos above, I shot a lot more 1st and 2nd year Eagles this year.


Jan 02, 2015 at 10:54 AM
Michael Rucci
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Aging of Eagles Help


Nice work here Kent It is Kent right I would say you are pretty much right here, sometimes it is tough on the younger birds .Diet(as all eagles do not eat just fish) has something to do with coloration of feathers and beak.If you look closer at your second and third year bird the only big difference i see is the beak color.So i may switch those.I also refer to the 4 year olds as dirty birds .I hope the rest of your season is good and i look forward to seeing more of your work .Have a good time at the cookout .I live a bit to far away to make it but would love to be there just to see my favorite bird in a different area


Jan 04, 2015 at 10:32 AM
Doug C
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Aging of Eagles Help


Wow, thanks for the thread Kent! This is very informative and helpful. I hope to someday make the Trek north to the promised land of eagle photography. With gurus like you and Larry around, I feel like I may have a fighting chance of learning something!


Jan 07, 2015 at 07:18 PM
BNJarrett
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Aging of Eagles Help


Doug C wrote:
Wow, thanks for the thread Kent! This is very informative and helpful. I hope to someday make the Trek north to the promised land of eagle photography. With gurus like you and Larry around, I feel like I may have a fighting chance of learning something!


Let me know if you head up. I'll be the next two weekends on Saturday and Sunday. Then I am going to take 2 or 3 weekends off. After all how many eagles photos does one guy need? over 5K in the "To Edit Raw" folder right now



Jan 07, 2015 at 09:33 PM
onesickpuppy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Aging of Eagles Help


For what it is worth...here is what I was told and feel its fairly accurate:

First key note is that they don't get a full yellow beak until about 3 years
When you see a lot of white/brown feathering, its during the stage between
1.5 to 2.5 years
Full white head comes around 3.5 years...and many times you will see a black
mask over the eyes or streaks of black in the last stages
Tail feather follows the change along with the head


SO....with your first image...(around our area) that appears to be a bird about 1.5 to 2 years
based on that the beak isn't "all" that yellow yet and not a strong dominance of white feathers

Your second shot is a clear 2 year old or so...not much yellow beak and getting good mix
of wing color mix

Your "third year bird" I would stay with a solid 1.5 to 2 ...due to no color yet in the beak

Your 4th year bird I would place more 3 to 3.75 due to the head being mostly changed to white.

And yes...your last one is a full mature bird.

We have also be advise the only basic way to tell a female from a male...is somewhat easy if
they are sitting next to each other...and the female will have a slightly larger neck.

Again...this is what was advise to me by fish and game people when I first started shooting eagles...
so don't shoot the messenger



Jan 09, 2015 at 01:25 AM
BNJarrett
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Aging of Eagles Help


onesickpuppy wrote:
For what it is worth...here is what I was told and feel its fairly accurate:

First key note is that they don't get a full yellow beak until about 3 years
When you see a lot of white/brown feathering, its during the stage between
1.5 to 2.5 years
Full white head comes around 3.5 years...and many times you will see a black
mask over the eyes or streaks of black in the last stages
Tail feather follows the change along with the head

SO....with your first image...(around our area) that appears to be a bird about 1.5 to 2 years
based on that the beak isn't "all" that
...Show more

Thanks for the extra information!



Jan 15, 2015 at 07:38 AM





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