My affinity for bald eagles is well known, but golden eagles, well, I have to admit they get my heart beating a bit faster. They are quite a bit rarer and their size is nothing short of incredible, being even bigger than baldies.

I spotted three goldens yesterday, one of which gave me some pretty cool pics including an amazing flyby. I ended up with 20+ pics in the series and this is my favorite.

Golden eagles have, sadly, not seen the type of recovery that bald eagles have. This is largely owed to a scarcity of the types of terrain they prefer for nesting and they are very sensitive to human encroachment. Additionally, studies have shown that lead poisoning from ammunition left in carcasses that they may feed on is an issue and wind farms in areas they frequently nest in and migrate through have claimed far too many.

More needs to be done on the conservation front to help these majestic raptors recover.

Scrolling through some older pictures I came across this pic from this past February so I’ll throw it out there for #TBT.

I had forgotten about the encounter, perhaps because I came away quite disappointed in the image series and blocked it out of my memory. Haha.

Mother Nature had blessed me that morning with an absolutely prime opportunity as this golden eagle sat on a dirt hill right next to the road. Given the rarity of these huge birds, I was excited. It was initially facing the other direction but, much to my surprise, it actually turned and faced me. I couldn’t believe my luck! I was in the perfect position to capture what was sure to be an epic launch.

In my excitement, however, I failed to verify my camera’s settings and had the shutter speed way too slow to capture a fast-moving raptor. When it took off, I ended up with 25 perfectly framed images of a beautiful golden eagle – 24 of which were blurry. This is the only one that came out worth sharing and, even then, I hesitate as it isn’t as sharp as I would like. It does however make for a fun (and frustrating) story and shows that all of us can screw up a great opportunity.

As North America’s largest raptor, you wouldn’t think many creatures would dare push their luck with a golden eagle. On this morning in April though, a Swainson’s Hawk had decided it didn’t appreciate the eagle’s presence in the hawk’s potential nesting area.

The Swainson made multiple dives at the eagle, trying to get it to leave. Eventually the golden decided its perch wasn’t worth the hassle, taking flight and flying right by. I was shooting toward the sun so the light was tough but it was a thrill to have one so close.

Now that is a huge wingspan! Over the last month or two I have been fortunate enough to see a few golden eagles. Unfortunately, all have been under less than ideal conditions as was the case with even this one and the overcast skies.

Nevertheless, it gave me a ton of fantastic poses before launching itself into the air in an impressive display of its power and grace. With wingspans that can exceed seven feet across and capable of speeds to 200mph, they are nothing short of impressive.

It is little wonder that they are the most common official national animal in the world with Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and Kazakhstan all choosing the golden eagle to represent them.

It had been far too long since I had seen one of these absolutely impressive raptors, probably about a year. This weekend I was fortunate enough to see one both Saturday and Sunday.

This is the one from Saturday and it proved to be quite a willing photo subject, giving me tons of poses. Normally I wouldn’t care for a shot from the back of the subject but in this case, I think it really is kind of neat. You get a look at that beautiful, golden nape (back of its neck) – just stunning.

The sun does a nice job lighting up those beautiful, dark, brown eyes as well. As you well know, I love my bald eagles but goldens, well, I think due to their even bigger size and greater rarity are perhaps just a touch more special.

What a massive, amazing bird!

A friend and I were both out in the same general area photographing wildlife on Sunday when he shot me a message saying he had eyes on a very patient golden eagle. I immediately high-tailed it to the spot and was excited to see this majestic creature just patiently hanging out on a utility pole.

Both my friend and I got tons of shots of it posing as it watched the traffic go by. Eventually, it decided to relocate to another pole a ways away and I managed some nice shots as it took flight.

As I said in the opening line, this is an immature golden. You can tell by the white at the base of the tail and on some of the primary flight feathers. Those areas on an adult would be pale brown. You do get a nice feel for the huge seven-foot wingspan these raptors are known for.

Oh how I wish the light was golden like these birds’ heads on this morning a week ago. I happened across my favorite pair of golden eagles, the first sighting of them I have had in months.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature opted to bring in lots of clouds making for very dim lighting and tough shooting conditions, including 14-degree temperatures. Still, it was fun to get to see these massive, gorgeous raptors again, even if the pics are kinda cruddy.

The male was hanging out on one of their favorite perches, a pole on a hillside that allows them to survey their domain. The female was about a quarter mile away, choosing more natural perch as she watched over a field waiting to hunt.

Going back to my encounter with this handsome fellow and his mate last month.

The pair gave me some pretty danged cool captures, including this one of the male soon after he took flight for a quick hunting trip. You get a good look at those killer talons and his impressive six-plus foot wingspan.

One thing that amazes me about golden eagles is their hunting ability. Certainly, their normal diet consists of small mammals like rabbits and prairie dogs. However, they have been known to take on much larger prey like deer, goats and pronghorn.

In Mongolia, golden eagles have been trained and used to hunt for centuries. Like many ancient skills, the tradition is fading but there are still those that practice it and what they do is truly amazing. If you have time, you might want to check out this documentary about it.

Or perhaps I should say high wire?

I always joke that I can find an eagle anywhere but there is some truth to that. They are my passion and if I really put my mind to it, I can usually find at least one on a photo outing.

On this day last week, I wasn’t even trying though and we came across this handsome golden while at Sand Wash Basin in Colorado. It was perched on one of the view utility poles in the area, keeping watch for a meal.

There aren’t many people – or much of anything else – in the area so it was not inclined to hang around. After giving me a few poses from the front, it carefully rearranged to turn its back to me. Kind of a fun shot as it does look like it is going to try to walk a tightrope.