This beautiful golden eagle gets its name from its golden brown plumage, with head and nape feathers that are slightly lighter, golden in color. The golden eagle is between 26 and 33 inches tall, the eagle has a wingspan of 78 inches (over 7 feet long) and weighs 3.2 to 6.4 kg. Adults have a slightly smaller and darker bill than other eagles, including the bald eagle. The immature golden eagle in flight can be recognized from the immature bald eagle by the presence of distinct white spots on the underside of the wing and by a large white tail with a dark band. The most noticeable field mark at any age that distinguishes these two eagles, if you are in a position to see it, is the presence of feathers on the feet of the golden eagles down to the toes, while the bald eagle has a quantity considerable of showing leg. Their favorite prey food includes rodents, birds, rabbits, and reptiles, as well as carrion. Small sheep and other small farm animals are also known to be carried away.
Life and history of these eagles
The golden eagle is a long-lived bird, with a lifespan that is believed to be around 30 years or even more. A pair of eagles has also been known to mate for life and defend a large selected territory against other golden eagles to protect the young from starvation. Both the male and female assist in nest building, occasionally in a tree but more often on the edge of a cliff, commonly with the protection of a tree or protruding rock for shelter. The nest is made of large sticks and branches and often contains scented leaves that can serve as a deterrent to insects and other small pests. Since the same nest can be used and added almost every year, as you can imagine, these nests can become very large due to the birds being added to them.
Birds usually nest 1 or 2 times, but rarely 3 eggs that hatch after an incubation period of 34 to 45 days. The harriers fledge in 65-75 days. The male provides some help with incubation, but is the main provider of food during the incubation and rearing of the chicks. The young reach sexual maturity and acquire adult coloration in most cases around 5 years of age.
Habitat is very important
The golden eagle is seen all over the world throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Golden eagles are typically associated with the great plains of the western United States and are quite common in our western states, Alaska, and western Canada. This species, which was never abundant in the eastern US, is virtually extirpated as a breeding bird east of the Mississippi River. Golden eagles once nested in a few places in the New York Adirondacks, in Maine, and in New Hampshire. They are believed to still nest in large numbers in eastern Canada and are protected here as well, as evidenced by hundreds of golden eagles that appear during fall and spring migrations in the eastern US Preferred habitats include areas generally open mountains, grasslands and deserts. . The golden eagle feeds primarily on live mammals such as ground squirrels and rabbits, and other small animals found in their preferred highland habitats. In winter they feed on carrion and waterfowl in the east.
Condition
Golden eagles have been protected in the United States since 1963. During the 1950s, ranchers and farmers, particularly sheep farmers, destroyed about 20,000 eagles, who perceived them as a major threat to livestock. In the northeastern states, the remaining populations declined dramatically until almost distinct. Although sightings occur every year in New York, most are during migration. A nest was built in the winter of 1992-93 by a wintering couple in southeastern New York, but it has never been used as the couple leaves each spring to return the following fall. The reasons for the decline of this species in the east are unclear. Several factors appear to be at play, including shooting, accidental trapping, human disturbance at nesting sites, roosting, loss of essential open hunting habitat due to succession and fire control, and possibly pesticide contamination (especially DDT) . And also construction and building works.
Piracy, a technique used successfully in New York to restore the bald eagle, has been considered for the golden eagle, but has not been followed due to uncertainty as to why the golden eagles disappeared from New York and if these conditions still persist. . Tracking of golden eagles is taking place in some southeastern states during the 1990s and the latter and at least three pairs have nested there in recent years.