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The Golden Eagle ....Hunting and Flight....2

Here we have 30 final shots of a adult Golden Eagle that i observed and photographed on a beautiful and sunny day, 1 concession road north of Gillies Hill in Elderslie Township in the County of Bruce, Ontario, Canada.

Gillies Hill was a pioneer settlement, in the Queens Bush in Bruce County, that unfortunately vanished with the passage of time. All that remains is a crossroads on the 6th concession in Elderslie Township marked by a stone cairn. I only tell you this to spare you looking for it on any modern map.

The Golden Eagle ....General Information
Source...... http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/eagle/eagle7.html

The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a member of the Booted or True Eagles family. Golden eagles can be found throughout much of the northern hemisphere. It lives in mountainous areas, prairie coulees, and other places where rugged terrain creates abundant updrafts.

Size - Length of about 3 feet (.92m). Weighing up to 15 pounds (7kg), with a wing span of up to 7 feet (2m).
Golden eagles are larger than bald eagles in average height and wingspan, but there isn't much difference in average weight.

Color - Adult golden eagles are brown with tawny on the back of the head and neck; tail faintly banded.
One way to distinguish a golden eagle from an immature bald eagle is leg plumage. A golden eagle's legs are entirely feather covered; an immature bald eagle's lower legs are bare. As seen while in flight, juvenile golden eagles have white patches at the base of the primaries; the tail is white with a distinct dark terminal band. It takes four years to acquire adult plumage.

Range - Golden eagles are more widely distributed than any other eagle. Other than North America, golden eagles can be found in Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Territory - The golden eagle is a solitary bird, which can be found in remote areas. They do not congregate in large numbers during the winter.

Being a great hunter, the golden eagle seldom eats carrion. Its hunting territory extends up to 162 square miles (260 square km)

Nesting - Golden eagles mate at about four years of age, and often stay paired with the same mate for life.

They prefer to nest on rocky crags or slicer cliff faces, although they will occasionally build a nest in a tree, often returning annually to the same nest.

Females lay a clutch of one to three eggs, once a year. Most males do not share in the 41 to 45 days of egg incubation, but will bring food to the female. Both parents share the responsibilities of raising the young.

Chicks - The eaglets weigh only three ounces when they are born. The young eaglets stay in the nest for nine to eleven weeks before they fledge.

Golden eagles are larger than bald eagles in average height and wingspan, but there isn't much difference in average weight. One way to distinguish a golden eagle from an immature bald eagle is leg plumage. A golden eagle's legs are entirely feather covered; an immature bald eagle's lower legs are bare. As seen while in flight, juvenile golden eagles have white patches at the base of the primaries; the tail is white with a distinct dark terminal band. It takes four years to acquire adult plumage. Adult golden eagles are brown with tawny on the back of the head and neck; tail faintly banded.

Migration - Some golden eagles live in their nesting territory all year. Others may migrate due to lack of food during the winter. They do not have to migrate large distances, because of their excellent hunting abilities.

Lifespan - Fifteen to twenty years.

Diet - Groundhogs, marmots, foxes, skunks, cats, rabbits, grouse, ground squirrels, crows, pheasants, meadowlarks, tortoises, and snakes.