This morning at 10:30 AM I saw a golden eagle overhead at Shoreham/Mayo beach.  The bird was soaring and a friend and I had a very good look.  
 
I tried very, very hard to make it a bald eagle, because it was lightish underneath and because I have not seen a Golden in this locality.  And because I have seen only two Goldens so far in my life, so I’m pretty tough on accepting the species. However, I really can’t force it into a bald eagle.  
 
There was no question this was an eagle.  As it turned and the sun hit it’s back, the head, nape and upper back and proximal wings were strikingly golden brown.  Absolutely not black, not dark, but strikingly golden brown.  The head was golden brown with a strong, big bill outlined against the sky.  I could not discern the color of the bill. 
 
The underwings were dark with lighter areas behind the underwing coverts, especially nearer the wingtips.  The patches were light but not bright white and they were symmetric on both underwings, not mottled like I’m used to seeing with juvenile bald eagles.  The tail was darkish, without a clear white band.  But it also didn’t look absolutely solid. 
 
The most confusing mark to me was that the belly was light.  It was not white, but lighter than I’ve ever seen an eagle.  I tried at that point to turn it into a big ol dark-tailed redtail, but it just was not. It was far too big, the head too large, the bill too large and the golden brown back just not red-tail at all.  In the field, I kept coming back to Golden; nothing else fit. 
 
I’ve gone home and looked through all books I own.  The adult bird on page 124 of the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, is the bird I saw except the chest was lighter than this picture, and the wings leaned more towards the juvenile.  The tail of the adult is compatible with the field bird. 
 
I’ve worked hard to make this bird anything other than a Golden and I’m offering the detailed description so that anyone on the list can weigh in.  However, at this point, I’m well satisfied that the bird is my first AA County Golden.  My friend concurs.  



Joanne Howl, DVM 
West River, MD