Immature Bald Eagle in Miramar 26 AUG 2014

Posted by NewMexiKen on Aug 26, 2014; 2:09pm
URL: http://bald-eagles-of-broward-county-florida.17.s1.nabble.com/Immature-Bald-Eagle-in-Miramar-26-AUG-2014-tp7573597.html

As I was walking home from birding the West Broward WCA this morning, an immature Bald Eagle flew up from the surface of the unpaved portion of Miramar Parkway just west of the barricades at SW 192nd Terrace (entrance to Monaco Cove). It was cloudy and the bird was flying directly away to the east into the sunlight. My impression was that it was dark overall, resembling a first year (juvenile) bird. When I processed my only 2 decent shots it appears to have some white on its belly and flanks. Yet it does not exhibit signs of molting its flight feathers-- they are uniform and in good shape.  The second photo was badly out of focus so I had to sharpen it. I believe it supports my observation that the flight feathers are uniform and do not show signs of molt, so I will stick with my ID as a juvenile (first year) bird.

In our experience it has been unusual to see juveniles or other immature eagles during the summer months, as we assumed they wander northward and do not return until around October or November.