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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Photographer details golden eagle at mealtime

A golden eagle feeds on a road-killed deer. (Jaime Johnson)
A golden eagle feeds on a road-killed deer. (Jaime Johnson)

WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Montana outdoor photographer Jaime Johnson came across the king of the Big Skies feasting on roadkill this week.  He has some keen observations:

Did a really nice hike today. We ran into this guy along the way. This is a Golden Eagle. Goldies are often confused with young Bald Eagles.

When young, Bald eagles are also brownish. Two easy ways to determine a Golden Eagle (other than size – Goldens are larger) is the Donald Trump hairdo (notice on the neck) and the long pants.

Goldies have feathers right down to their toes. Bald Eagles wear Capri pants (shins are showing).

Another fun thing with these guys, when they gorge themselves (like this one did), they actually eat too much and can't fly. When disturbed, they scamper along the ground until they find a log or stump to sit on.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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