Mason neck park, VA, 8/4/2022

[blackburnian]

It’s a Bald Eagle 

[MWM]

Now it looks like a juvenile Bald Eagle. 🙂

 

[Charlie Spencer]

Manta ray

[PaulK]

That's an awfully small head for a bald eagle but I defer to those of you who are seeing something definitive here. I think Charlie and I are seeing the same (absence of?) thing here. 

[Snake Fingers]

18 minutes ago, PaulK said:

That's an awfully small head for a bald eagle but I defer to those of you who are seeing something definitive here. I think Charlie and I are seeing the same (absence of?) thing here. 

Count me in! I thought I knew what was going on, then I didn’t, then I did, then I’m more confused than ever.

[Avery]

Points for Golden: no big honkin’ yellow bill

Points for Bald: No golden nape, broad wings, possible white splotches on body of the wing, no white base of remiges. 
 

Young Balds can have mostly dark bills, and this bird shows a yellow bill base. 
 

For me, I can’t make it into anything other than a young Bald. I keep looking for points to other species, but I can’t find any that are definitive or can’t be explained through the photo quality and angle. 

[Liam]

1 hour ago, Avery said:

Points for Golden: no big honkin’ yellow bill

So no points for Golden because that bill looks big and honkin' to me with at least a dash of yellow for sure. The head and bill both look distinctively large to me.

[Avery]

1 hour ago, Liam said:

So no points for Golden because that bill looks big and honkin' to me with at least a dash of yellow for sure. The head and bill both look distinctively large to me.

Exactly 

[Charlie Spencer]

Still looks like a crow to me.

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Still looks like a crow to me.

Why? 

[Charlie Spencer]

57 minutes ago, IKLland said:

Why? 

Short leading primary feather, spread of primaries, shape of tail, the complete absence (to my eye) of any features that make this an eagle.  To me, the original and edited photos show a totally black bird.  Any pale areas are due to light reflection commonly seen on crows, ravens, etc.  The pale area to the left of what I think some interpret as a bill looks like the same pale area to the right of the head - shiny patagials, not a bill.

In short, it looks a lot like this bird to me (photo linked to Macaulay).  Personally, I think the bird is unidentifiable.

Edited February 24 by Charlie Spencer

[IKLland]

On 2/22/2023 at 1:22 PM, IKLland said:

What do people think now?

 bringing this to the next page 

[IKLland]

I’m 99% sure this is a Bald Eagle.

30 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Short leading primary feather, spread of primaries, shape of tail, the complete absence (to my eye) of any features that make this an eagle.  To me, the original and edited photos show a totally black bird.  Any pale areas are due to light reflection commonly seen on crows, ravens, etc.  The pale area to the left of what I think some interpret as a bill looks like the same pale area to the right of the head - shiny patagials, not a bill.

In short, it looks a lot like this bird to me (photo linked to Macaulay).  Personally, I think the bird is unidentifiable.

If I zoom in to the “head” of the bird in question, I can see the bird’s eye, and I’m almost cherish that the pale area is the bill. I’ve never heard of a short leading primary feather being a field mark for crows, and I wouldn’t judge the OP’s bird’s tail shape based on the angle of the photo.

 

 

And I thought this would be worth a try, a Black and white version of the photo

[IKLland]

If you click on the black and white image that I posted(the most recent photo), and zoom in, I can clearly see the bird’s eye and bill.

[IKLland]

36 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

The pale area to the left of what I think some interpret as a bill looks like the same pale area to the right of the head - shiny patagials

I really don’t want to make you feel like I’m arguing with you, however aren’t patagials on the bottom of the bird’s wing? The pale area that I think is the bill(if it is patagials, which it’s not) is on the underneath of the wing. 

[Charlie Spencer]

If y'all can get a positive ID out of this, more power to you.  As I think I've said before,  I can't find a head or bill. To me, everything forward of the wings is amorphous.

Stressful evening.  Too tired to care.

Edited February 25 by Charlie Spencer

[Colton V]

This is how I see it. It’s a young Baldie so it’s got a dark tip to the bill. 
edit: I guess I personally don’t know how to rule out Golden Eagle, but it’s certainly one of the two.

Edited February 25 by Colton V

[Peromyscus]

28 minutes ago, Colton V said:

I guess I personally don’t know how to rule out Golden Eagle, but it’s certainly one of the two.

A Golden Eagle in early August at Mason Neck NWR (Fairfax County, VA) or anywhere close to there especially away from the mountains is very unlikely. I think that it is a young Bald Eagle.

Edited February 25 by Peromyscus

[IKLland]

39 minutes ago, Colton V said:

This is how I see it.

That’s exactly how I see it.

Edited February 25 by IKLland

[Birds are cool]

30 minutes ago, IKLland said:

That’s exactly how I see it.

Same

[Kevin]

1 hour ago, Colton V said:

This is how I see it. It’s a young Baldie so it’s got a dark tip to the bill. 
edit: I guess I personally don’t know how to rule out Golden Eagle, but it’s certainly one of the two.

Bingo.

[Charlie Spencer]

7 hours ago, Colton V said:

This is how I see it. It’s a young Baldie so it’s got a dark tip to the bill. 
edit: I guess I personally don’t know how to rule out Golden Eagle, but it’s certainly one of the two.

Thanks.  I couldn't find those details.

[DaBirb]

Thank you so much!