Golden Eagle Expelled by Ravens

It was a relatively quiet morning at the river today. An overcast dawn gave way to a choppy wind that blew out all the cloud cover but then hung around keeping birds under cover and hard to hear. Just when the last of the grey was being replaced by blue I heard a sound that gave me a stir of excitement: the sound of Common Ravens mobbing something.

Two Common Ravens ganged up on this Golden Eagle to escort it out of their territory.

I looked up toward the sound and way up high found two ravens chasing an eagle. I was able to get the camera lens to find them, thanks to amazing technology and snapped a few shots that, while very far away and not in the best light, at least give an idea of what the episode looked like.

The two Ravens close in on the eagle, sounding pestering rapid fire caws as they let the eagle know it was not welcome here.

The two Ravens swooped and banked at and around the eagle, who was clearly moving on, though not in a hurry, and offering the occasional protest.

You can just make out the golden nape on the eagle here.

The trio continued across the sky, from blue to the last of the gray overcast, north to south, the loud mocking cackle never waning.

Here all three birds show their molting patterns as new feathers replace the old.

This view shows how to tell this is a Golden Eagle rather than a Bald when you can’t see the nape. The flight feathers toward the end of the wing are barred, and the tail is noticeably longer than on a Baldy.

The only view I got of the eagle’s back also shows the feathered legs that differentiate it from the Bald Eagle.

Like Bald Eagles, Goldens take five years to attain their adult plumage. I’m not experienced seeing the various stages of Goldens, but I believe this one is very close to full maturity, maybe four years old? (Happy to be corrected as always.)

During the years of early white settlement in the Southern Humboldt area Golden Eagle numbers lessened, but they are becoming a more frequent sighting, slowly but surely increasing as are Bald Eagles. Unlike many Goldens, found virtually worldwide, known to be predators of open country who nest on rocky cliffs, the local Goldens instead nest in giant old fir trees in our area.