Early this afternoon I saw this adult bald eagle being chased by what I believe was a Golden Eagle. At the same time that I was taking these pictures another bald eagle flew through this dispute and what I believe was a second Golden Eagle could be seen further away. These pictures are blown up greatly since this aerial display was taking place far above me.
See how close they got to one another.
These birds were going fast, what would have happened if the Golden Eagle had made contact?
Neat! They would have had a mid-air tussle.
Can't say what the outcome would have been.
Lake Champlain is just a couple miles away where a lot of ice fishing takes place. Bald Eagles will scavenge what fishermen leave behind. I have seen Golden Eagles go through this area in the fall, might they be traveling north again to establish their breeding territory for the coming year? Was this event two different species trying to establish a breeding territory too close to one another or in the same area? Bald Eagle haven't been known to raise young in Vermont but they do on the other side of the lake. I hope that this might be a good sign, that is if the Goldens will allow them!
Looks to me more like an immature Bald Eagle, not a Golden - the wing shape is right for Bald, not for Golden, and the white patches are also characteristic of immature Bald.
Resin
You are most likely right Resin. But what self respecting mature bald eagle would fly away from an immature bald eagle? Remember we don't have a breeding population in Vermont and it's not likely that this would be young from the previous year. This chase scene lasted until I left the area.
David
A friendly game of TAG??? ;-)
We had a golden eagle here a couple years ago. Our bald eagles were not happy. The golden eagle is quite a bit larger than the bald.
I wish I could have gotten pictures of the battles they had. A bald eagle would sit on the top of a tree, with his wings out (like on a quarter), then the golden would swoop in and knock him off from his perch. It was truely a once in a lifetime event. There was quite a bit of "posturing" going on between the two.
He stayed in the area for a couple weeks in the early fall until goose season started.
He never came back to visit. We still look for him.
The imm bald eagles do look quite a bit like the golden, but smaller and different markings and shape as Resin points out.
But what self respecting mature bald eagle would fly away from an immature bald eagle?
A friendly game of TAG??? ;-)
I have seen the young looking like they are fighting with the adult bald eagles when food is involved. I thought it was "teaching" behavior.
