immature eagle

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By Jordan Lake: Immature Bald Eagle with Unusual Face
There is nothing quite like having a 3.5 year-old bald eagle do a 90 degree turn far across the lake and make a bee-line for the shore you are sitting on. He never acknowledged that I was there as he streaked over my head and on to the south. I will know him again, if I see him: did you notice the odd coloration that drapes down his beak? I think it may be scar tissue and could be there for his lifetime.

By Jordan Lake: Practice!

While on the Haw River above the main lake, a friend and I watched a pair of immature bald eagles practicing the maneuver known as a death spiral. I managed to get one of the talon to talon grabs that the youngsters were practicing; when they get really good at this skill they lock both feet to both feet. This is a critical skill for a bald eagle to learn as it is part of the breeding behavior of a potential breeding pair of bald eagles. The upper bird is a 4-year-old and the lower bird is a 3-year-old.