Dear Eagle Beagles, On my lunch break at 1:15 EDST, Monday, March 15, 2010, I observed a juvenile Golden Eagle from McKinnon Road near Angus in broad sunshine. I was on the road at the dilapidated building 9292 McKinnon Road and first observed the very large raptor approx. 1 km directly north and flying west north of Concession 2 Sunnidale. It was flapping a fair bit into the west wind and displayed a noticeable dihedral when gliding. My first impulse was Turkey Vulture, but after a few seconds in the binoculars, the dihedral was too slight, no rocking motion and the underwings were not two-toned. I began to look for Golden Eagle field marks and noted the head was smaller than a Bald Eagle but bigger than a Turkey Vulture, the wings had slightly bulging secondaries and the head and tail looked somewhat lighter at times but that was not clear at that distance. It swung south at the Mad River and came within 750 m of me at which time I got some clearer views of the broad white-banded tail of a juvenile Golden Eagle. It did not have any white patches on the wings and at that distance I still could not clearly make out whether or not it had a golden nape. It proceeded South to South of the Hydro Towerline and then headed East and I lost track of it. I may have seen it briefly while driving on Peacekeepers’ Way/Simcoe County Road 90 just east of the Nottawasaga River but by the time I had stopped safely to get a better look it had disappeared. On referring to the Sibley Field Guide To Birds of Eastern North America, I would report that Sibley’s remarks “wingbeats relatively smooth and shallow” and “steady flight” aptly described the flight behaviour I observed. Although this eagle occasionally made a small circle it essentially flew directly and steadily on a line.
Other birds observed: 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 dark adult, 1 light), Red-tailed Hawk, 2 Rock Pigeons, 2 pairs of Trumpeter Swans, many Canada Geese, Bufflehead, 6 male Northern Pintails, a few Scaup (too far for ID), 2 male Hooded Mergansers, 1 pair Mallards, several Herring Gulls and some gull sp., duck sp., blackbird sp., American Crow, Common Raven, and along Peacekeepers’ Way there were some Horned Larks and another raptor, either a Red-tailed or Red-shouldered Hawk. Note that the Nottawasaga River is in full flood and McKinnon Road is closed and water was across the road north of 9292. I would advise parking south of the barricade and walking north as the road is very narrow and difficult to turn around on safely when flooded. Concession 2 Sunnidale is flooded at its east end but may offer closer access (I did not assess this option so access may be impossible due to flooding) to the waterfowl as they were closer to it than to McKinnon Road. Extreme caution must be exercised as the flood waters are high, cold and have dangerous currents potentially eroding and weakening roads and banks. A careless birder could become Sturgeon food. Chris Evans, Midhurst, Ontario _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
