Date: 1/17/26 7:06 am From: 'PAUL ROBERTS' via Arlington Birds <arlingtonbirds...> Subject: Re: [Arlington Birds] Juvenile Bald Eagle at Fresh Pond
Hi Barbara, Thanks for the eagle photo from Fresh Pond, and good to hear from you again. The bird looks like a juvenile, which a young eagle can be called until it is approximately one year old. (Might also be a dark one-year-old.) It is possible to accurately age young eagles (until they are at least two, often three) when you see the status of their interrupted molt in their secondaries in flight. When they are perched it is almost impossible to age them accurately. The color of their soft parts and their overall plumage vary greatly; they are helpful but not reliable indicators of age. Some eagles (mostly some southern) can achieve full adult plumage by three years of age, but most eagles take 4 to 5.5 years to achieve full adult plumage. A few retain some limited variable smudging in the "refrigerator white" portions of their body long after they achieve adulthood. If this bird were 4 or approaching 4, typically the head and tail would be largely "refrigerator white" with variable smudging and the torso dark brown (looking blackish) with "salt and pepper" scattered anywhere, especially on the torso and underwings. The beak and eyes would be largely or completely yellow. Best, Paul Paul M. Roberts Medford, MA <phawk254...>
