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Project Noah Nature School
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Young eaglets are totally brown with brown eyes. They get their white head and tail plus yellow eyes and legs by the time they mature around year 5. This is the chick of the year 2011 just beginning to test its wings.
This nest is on an island in a protected saltwater bay. The Island has conservation easements so the nest will, we hope, remain undisturbed. The bay is 12 feet deep or more at high tide but drains out to just a stream which makes it progressively easier for the adults to catch ducks and fish for their chicks. The adults stay on the island year around and have successfully raised 1-3 chicks almost every year for the last 20... not sure if it is the same adult pair, perhaps their decedents at least.
Photo is horribly back lit... I was drifting in my canoe up a channel looking west into the sunset when the chick flew through the woods and made an admirably coordinated landing for one taking such cautious flights close to home.
Spotted on Aug 19, 2011
Submitted on Aug 19, 2011
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