JULY 18 Adult and Juvenile over Miramar

[NewMexiKen]

On July 18 the sun rose at 6:40 AM, and exactly at that time an adult Bald Eagle appeared over the wetlands of west Miramar, 1 1/2 miles to the southeast of the nest. Its wing feathers appeared rather unevenly worn and/or molting and it gave the impression of being a bit small, so it may well have been the male:





Then, five minutes later, an immature bird flew, following the same path to the southeast towards Sunset Lakes subdivision. It was a juvenile (first year eaglet), as evidenced by overall dark body, head and tail, dark beak, with white on under-wing linings and axillaries ("wing-pits"). Her secondary wing feathers bulge a but, indicating they are the longer juvenile feathers and second-year molt has not yet started.  This is a late sighting, as usually the eaglets have wandered to the north by July. Interestingly, she was carrying some grass or plant fibers in her talons: