12/17

[Fish24/7]

Gorgeous day!  

48.5WT

11-3

 I fished where some bass typically are in December but they were giving me a hard time. Had dozens of fish come up to the bait on the screen but never bite anything I tried. Tossed Ned around , picked up 2 babies on it.  Nothing on treble hooked baits. Best bite was 1/16oz swimming minnows 8-10' swam through suspended fish in the creek channel. Just 1 keeper spot , but the ultra light and 4lb saved the day for me. No pan fish, guess the weather was too nice !  Some tree debris around Theo just a head's up.

Anybody seeing any Eagles around the lake? I haven't seen 1 this winter, just Loons and gulls.

[Bill Babler]

The eagles must all be up here on the Rock as they are absolutely thick in not only pairs but flocks.  Big Creek day before yesterday had 8 sitting in one tree and there were at least a dozen more flying and sitting around.

Guy I was fishing with guides up the James River and he said he has never seen the amount of Golden Eagles up there.  Has been seeing at least a couple a day in conjunction with lots of Balds.

Said twice he has seen Bald Eagles grab fish only to have the Golden Eagles take them away.

We'll send some your way.

[fshndoug]

I think those are immature bald eagles.it takes several years to get the white head.could be wrong though

[Fish24/7]

that's neat Bill, Yesterday I heard an eagle while splitting firewood but I never saw it.  Some friends fished out of Spring Creek ramp yesterday all afternoon and saw 1 Bald.  

[Bill Babler]

Nope, they are Golden Eagles.  They are noticeable larger than the Bald Eagles and somewhat  easy to recognize even for a non-birder if you know what to look for..  They don't resemble an immature bald except for being a raptor instead of a vulture. 

Way to much yellow/buff on the Golden and the Bald darker to black.

Golden Eagle has feathered legs and no white undertones while a immature  Bald has  white undertones under the wings on a much darker body that tends to run to black with legs that are unfeathered and can be yellow or an off white to grey.

 

[ness]

Ok, this is very interesting to me. I’m a guy who grew up with Bald Eagles and other raptors on the brink of extinction. I’ve always thought they were very cool. I banded kestrels in college and when I graduated and finally had an income I donated a small portion to a project in MN that rehabilitated injured raptors. I love that they’ve made this remarkable comeback. It’s not unusual seeing Bald Eagles around here, but I have not seen or heard of Golden Eagles this far east. Are we sure they’re Golden Eagles? 

[Gavin]

That’s cool. Have never seen a Golden Eagle in MO before.

[Johnsfolly]

I haven't seen a golden eagle. Apparently there was a golden eagle that wintered in a town southeast of us here in Maryland last winter. I never thought that they would be this far east but seems like they can be. Pretty cool that they are being seen in MO.

[1farmer]

I see 1 or 2 golden eagles around here almost every year and have for at least the last six year. I know where 4 bald eagle nests are within 3 miles of the house. The coolest site I have seen was a group of hawks in a field I was plowing. It was in winter of 2014 -2015. There were over 100 of them in the group. When I got home I looked them up and found that they spend their summers in northern Canada and normally winter just below the great lakes. Tell me why the were this far south.

[ness]

13 hours ago, ness said:

Ok, this is very interesting to me. I’m a guy who grew up with Bald Eagles and other raptors on the brink of extinction. I’ve always thought they were very cool. I banded kestrels in college and when I graduated and finally had an income I donated a small portion to a project in MN that rehabilitated injured raptors. I love that they’ve made this remarkable comeback. It’s not unusual seeing Bald Eagles around here, but I have not seen or heard of Golden Eagles this far east. Are we sure they’re Golden Eagles? 

Here, let me answer that for you, John. You obviously didn't do a lick of research before you posted:

"Golden Eagle:

Aquila chrysaetos

Length – 37 Inches

Wingspan – 86 Inches

Golden eagles are only found during the winter in small numbers. They are easily recognizable due to their immense wingspan, brown body and golden sheen on their feathers throughout the body and head. Golden eagles fly similarly to turkey vultures, with their wings slightly raised. They feed on a variety of prey, small mammals and birds in open grasslands. "

Next time how about you do a little homework first?